OLYMPICS

Olympic Games 2012: Cycling

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether she has made an estimate of the number of tickets which will be available to  (a) members of the public and  (b) civic and other official guests for the two Olympic Games Mountain Bike events in Hadleigh.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 22 March 2010
	 The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is responsible for ticketing for the London 2012 Games. LOCOG's ticketing approach will ensure that it raises the funding required to stage the games and that it provides affordable and accessible tickets to deliver full venues, including Hadleigh Farm. LOCOG is working now to finalise the sports competition schedule and venue seating plans, and this work needs to be completed before LOCOG will know the numbers of seats and tickets. It is critical that as many tickets as possible end up in the hands of the public. Tickets will go on sale in 2011.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Legal Costs

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department and its predecessors have spent in  (a) legal fees and  (b) compensation on legal cases concerning remuneration of its employees in each of the last 10 years.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not spent any money on legal fees or compensation on legal cases concerning remuneration of employees since October 2007.
	No information or record is held by the Department prior to October 2007.

Departmental Publications

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the dates of publication of any regular statistics or reports by his Department have been affected by planning for the forthcoming general election.

Ben Bradshaw: On the announcement of a general election, the Cabinet Secretary issues guidance to Departments on their activities during the pre-election period. This will be published on the Cabinet Office website.
	Regular statistical releases and reports will continue to be issued and published during the election period on dates which have been pre-announced.

Television: Smoking

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department intends to take to ensure adherence to the Ofcom code on smoking on television.

Ben Bradshaw: The Ofcom Broadcasting Code sets out the rules for broadcasters regarding smoking in programmes. Within the framework of the code it is the responsibility of each broadcaster to make judgments about what individual programmes should contain and at what time they are broadcast. Enforcement of the code is a matter for Ofcom, which operates independently of Government.

Tourism: Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding his Department has allocated to the tourism industry in  (a) the UK and  (b) Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 18 March 2010
	The information requested about tourism funding for Westmorland and Lonsdale is not held centrally. The North West Regional Development Agency (NWRDA) has the primary role in taking forward the north-west regional tourism strategy, and in deciding on investment to promote tourism that would affect Cumbria. The NWRDA spent £14 million in support of tourism in 2008-09.
	The overall level of public sector investment in UK tourism from local, regional and national sources is likely to exceed £2 billion in the current spending review period.
	In partnership with the industry and the wider public sector, DCMS has a clear and coherent policy framework for promoting tourism. The funding provided for heritage and museums and galleries; for branding and marketing improvements led by VisitBritain and VisitEngland; for the National Skills Strategy for tourism and hospitality; and for the work across Britain to drive up product quality through accommodation grading schemes are all investments by Government which support tourism.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Dogs: Crime

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the incidence of the use of dogs in crime.

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the incidence of the use of dogs in crime.

Meg Hillier: holding answer 22 March 2010
	These data are not collected centrally. We are aware of the growing concerns about the use of dangerous dogs to harass and intimidate people. This has promoted the Government to introduce the new gang injunction power under the Policing and Crime act 2009 and launch a public consultation on managing and controlling dangerous dogs.

Crime: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences committed within the City of York area have been recorded by North Yorkshire Police under the National Crime Recording Standard in each year since 2003-04.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 22 March 2010
	 All the offences recorded by the police and notified to the Home Office for the period requested have been recorded in accordance with the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) and the Home Office Counting Rules for Recorded Crime.
	Offences recorded in the York Community Safety Partnership area are given in the table.
	
		
			  Total offences recorded by the police in the York Community Safety Partnership area 
			   Number of offences 
			 2003-04 29,347 
			 2004-05 23,080 
			 2005-06 22,784 
			 2006-07 20,935 
			 2007-08 18,901 
			 2008-09 17,886

Crimes of Violence: Crime Prevention

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking with local authorities to tackle gang activity.

Alan Campbell: Gangs are part of the wider serious youth violence agenda, on which the Government have spent £17.3 million since September 2007 as part of the Tackling Gangs Action Programme (TGAP) and Tackling Knives and Serious Youth Violence Action Programme (TKAP). On 17 March 2010 my right hon. Friend the Minister for Policing, Crime and Counter-Terrorism announced a further £5.5 million for tackling serious youth violence in 2010-11. £1.5 million of this funding has been made available through the Community Fund, ensuring that 150 voluntary and community sector organisations are able to deliver intensive interventions at a local level to young people involved in serious youth violence, including gangs.
	Through the Policing and Crime Act 2009 the Home Office created Gang Injunctions, a civil tool to allow local authorities and police to tackle over 18s involved in gang related violence. Parliament is currently considering provisions in the Crime and Security Bill which will allow this civil tool to be used in relation to 14 to 17-year-olds. The £17.3 million funding since September 2007 to tackle gangs and serious youth violence has included £1.6 million to the four cities that were the focus of the TGAP programme, London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, to assist in the multi-agency risk management of violent offenders, including gang members. In Merseyside, for instance, this funding has resulted in the UK's first Violent Offender Management Unit. The Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) have also jointly established a team of experts from police forces, local authorities and central Government that will be available to local partnerships to deliver focused advice and guidance on gangs.
	Further support for local schools, partnerships and practitioners can also be found in guidance on safeguarding children and young people who may be involved in gang activity, recently published jointly by the Home Office and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). This guidance builds on the advice already offered in Tackling Gangs: A Practical Guide, published in 2008, which provides key approaches to help local partnerships devise a gangs strategy.

Criminal Records: Vetting

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with which countries the United Kingdom has bilateral agreements on exchanging criminal records information for employment vetting purposes; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: We do not currently have any bilateral agreements in place but we are in negotiation with a number of countries.
	We have reached provisional agreement to exchange criminal record information with Australia and New Zealand for employment checking purposes with an applicant's consent. We are aiming to conclude negotiations around the exact mechanisms for doing so by the end of 2010. We have also reached agreements in principle with Ireland and France in relation to those seeking to work with children.
	Within the European Union, under the terms of Council Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA on the organisation and content of the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record between member states, the United Kingdom is told by other member states when a British citizen is convicted of an offence within their jurisdiction. Member states are required to take the necessary measures to comply with this Framework Decision by 27 April 2012. Similarly, information may be received through Interpol channels in relation to British citizens convicted outside the EU. Conviction information received through either channel is recorded on the Police National Computer and so will be disclosed in the same way as convictions in United Kingdom courts.
	In many countries individuals, and in some cases third parties, can request criminal records certificates for employment checking purposes. We are currently looking at where we can strengthen the guidance for employers to encourage them to ask to see such certificates, particularly in relation to those seeking work with children and vulnerable adults. We aim to put in place all the information that we have on this process in relation to each country to help employers and prospective employees obtain certificates and understand what is disclosed on them. However, obtaining criminal records is only one aspect of pre-employment checks and good practice is also for employers to obtain character and employment references.

Departmental Publications

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the dates of publication of any regular statistics or reports by his Department have been affected by planning for the forthcoming general election.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 22 March 2010
	On the announcement of a general election, the Cabinet Secretary issues guidance to Departments on their activities during the pre-election period. This will be published on the Cabinet Office website.
	Regular statistical releases and statistical reports will continue to be issued and published during the election period on dates which have already been pre-announced.

Domestic Violence: Crime Prevention

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effects on the level of domestic violence of restraining orders made under section 12 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004.

Alan Campbell: Section 12 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 was implemented on 30 September 2009. There has been no assessment of the effects of this legislation on the levels of domestic violence.

Immobilisation of Vehicles: Fees and Charges

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what cap he plans to impose on the charge levied by vehicle immobilisation businesses for the release of a vehicle.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 2010
	Proposals contained in the Crime and Security Bill will make it mandatory for all wheel clamping businesses working on private land to be licensed and to adhere to a strict code of practice. The code will include maximum release fees which may be charged in connection with wheel clamping of vehicles and the related activities of towing and impounding. The details of the code of practice, including maximum fees, will be set out after further consultation with stakeholders.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Independent Police Complaints Commission in holding the actions of police forces to account;
	(2)  if he will take steps to require police forces to implement the recommendations of the Independent Police Complaints Commission or to state publicly the reasons why they do not intend to implement them.

David Hanson: holding answer 22 March 2010
	On receipt of a report of an investigation conducted by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) police chiefs are required to report back to the IPCC on the action the police force proposes to take in respect of the matters dealt with in the report. Such matters will include consideration of recommendations from the IPCC as to whether disciplinary proceedings should be brought against a person serving with the police.
	Where the force does not accept the recommendation of the IPCC as to the bringing of disciplinary proceedings, the IPCC has the power to direct that disciplinary proceedings are brought.
	The Public Accounts Committee's Fifteenth Report on the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), published in March 2009, recommended that the Home Office clarify responsibility for monitoring the implementation IPCC recommendations. Work is currently under way to put in place a suitable framework to achieve this.
	The work of the IPCC is crucial to maintaining an effective and efficient police complaints system in England and Wales. The work of the IPCC is subject to detailed scrutiny in for example, criminal, coroners' and disciplinary proceedings. It has led directly to holding individual officers to account.
	More widely, the IPCC also chairs a national Learning the Lessons committee with police stakeholders, ensuring that key lessons from investigations are identified and promulgated, leading to overall improvements in policing.

Passports

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of British citizens who hold a valid  (a) UK passport and  (b) UK biometric passport.

Meg Hillier: The latest estimate is that in September 2008 there were some 47 million valid United Kingdom passports covering some 77 per cent. of the population. The split between non-biometric and biometric passports (which were first issued in 2006) is not available.

Police

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in England and Wales in 2009.

David Hanson: There were 144,353 police officers (including those on maternity leave and career breaks) in the 43 police forces of England and Wales as at 30 September 2009.
	These and other related data are published annually as part of the annual Police Service Strength Home Office Statistical Bulletin. The latest bulletin can be found at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/policeorg1.html
	and bulletins for this and previous years are deposited in the Library of the House.

Police: Harassment

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of harassment in the workplace were reported by employees of  (a) police services and  (b) his Department in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: Information on the number of incidents of harassment in the workplace in the police service is not collected centrally.
	Information prior to the 2005-06 financial year is not held centrally within the Home Office (excluding its agencies) and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. We are unable to provide information in relation to the number of allegations of harassment within Home Office HQ in each year since 2005-06 as there were fewer than five cases in each year. Further information is therefore withheld on grounds of confidentiality.

Terrorism: Detainees

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals are being detained in the UK under anti-terrorist legislation.

David Hanson: holding answer 22 March 2010
	The only anti-terrorism legislation in the UK which provides for the detention of individuals is section 41 of and schedule 8 to the Terrorism Act 2000. This provides for persons arrested as terrorist suspects to be detained pre-charge (for up to a maximum of 28 days). The Home Office does not hold statistics on how many foreign nationals are, or have been, detained under these provisions. However, the Home Office does collate statistics on the number of individuals arrested under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and the length of time that these individuals are detained pre-charge. These are included in a Bulletin published for the first time on 13 May 2009 (Statistics on Terrorism Arrests and Outcomes Great Britain 11 September 2001 to 31 March 2008). The first edition of the Bulletin is available at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb0409.pdf
	The second and third issues of the Bulletin were published on 26 November 2009 and 25 February 2010. These are available via the following links:
	 26 November 2009
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1809.pdf
	 25 February 2010
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/hosb0410.pdf

SCOTLAND

Departmental Publications

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the dates of publication of any regular statistics or reports by his Department have been affected by planning for the forthcoming general election.

Ann McKechin: On the announcement of a general election, the Cabinet Secretary issues guidance to Departments on their activities during the pre-election period. This will be published on the Cabinet Office website.
	Regular statistical releases and reports will continue to be issued and published during the election period on dates which have been pre-announced.

Departmental Theft

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps his Department is taking to deter theft from within the Department.

Ann McKechin: A wide range of security measures are in place to deter and detect theft. These are kept under review and additional measures are put in place as appropriate.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Community Development: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding his Department and its agencies have allocated to local authorities for Parish Path initiatives and partnerships in each year since such partnerships were established.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Parish Paths Partnership was launched by the Countryside Commission in 1992 and ran until 1998 as a demonstration project. Some local authorities continue to run and fund the scheme, which is aimed at improving and maintaining local public rights of way. There is no centrally held information as to which authorities continue to operate the Parish Paths Partnership scheme, and how much funding is allocated to the scheme by those authorities.

Environment Protection: Seas and Oceans

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to publish the Government's Marine Protected Area Strategy; and what priority will be accorded to ecological coherence in the strategy.

Huw Irranca-Davies: We plan to publish our Marine Protected Area (MPA) strategy before Easter. MPAs are an important tool to achieve the Government's vision for clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas. The Government are committed to designating Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) under the European habitats and birds directives respectively, and Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. Our ambition is to have sufficient sites designated by the end of 2012 so that they form a UK ecologically coherent network together with existing SACs, SPAs, MCZs, Ramsar sites and Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and those sites designated by the Devolved Administrations.

Fish: Conservation

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to protect fish stocks in UK waters; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: As UK Fisheries Minister, I have made clear that the conservation of our fish stocks is my top priority. Without sustainable fish stocks, we cannot have a sustainable fishing industry. I want to see that reflected in reform of the common fisheries policy.
	In the last round of EU Fisheries Council negotiations, I supported the setting of catch limits for this year, which reflected the scientific advice for the stocks in question-and only sought to alter the Commission's proposals where these would have caused significant economic difficulties for the coastal communities concerned. Ultimately, this represented a balance of UK interests.
	In the lead-up to this year's negotiations, we will be working with industry and colleagues from the devolved Administrations to further encourage the widespread application of more selective fishing gear and working practices, to deliver even more significant reductions in discards, and eventually more sustainable fish stocks in UK (and EU) waters.

Rodents

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the Central Science Laboratory research reports commissioned by his Department on rodent issues with reference MoU with CSL - WM05002.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The memorandum of understanding between DEFRA and the Food and Environment Research Agency (previously the Central Science Laboratory) refers to the "English House Condition Survey Rodent Element and other Rodent Issues". The only reports commissioned on rodents under this agreement have been those reporting on infestation of dwellings by commensal rodents, derived from data arising from the rodent element of the English House Condition Survey. Copies of these commensal rodent infestation reports are already available in the House Library.

Rural Development Programme: North West

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding has been allocated to businesses in the North West under the Rural Development Programme for England to date; and how many businesses in that region have participated in the programme.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Under the socio-economic measures of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), to date £62 million of funding has been committed to businesses in the North West for investment projects. This has benefitted 367 businesses in that region.
	These figures do not include those businesses benefitting under axis 2 of the programme from the agri-environment or forestry schemes, or payments under the Hill Farm Allowance.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Talisman project is fully operational in Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: The Talisman route clearance system is currently in theatre and should be operational soon. As with other counter-improvised explosive device systems, Talisman is a developing capability and will continue to evolve over the coming months. I am withholding information on the exact schedule as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Animal Experiments

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many animals of each species involved in procedures died as a result of those procedures at  (a) Porton Down and  (b) other establishments for which he is responsible in each of the last five years.

Quentin Davies: The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) returns the numbers of procedures undertaken involving animals at DSTL Porton Down to the Home Office on an annual basis, the numbers of procedures returned for last five years are detailed in the following table. This is the only designated defence establishment for such procedures.
	
		
			  Numbers of DSTL procedures returned to the Home Office 
			   Guinea Pig  Ferret  Mouse  Pig  Rabbit  Rat  Sheep  Non-human primate  Total 
			 2005 661 60 20,016 127 3 195 2 54 21,118 
			 2006 545 0 15,986 123 0 335 4 52 17,045 
			 2007 647 0 17,095 74 5 359 2 75 18,257 
			 2008 254 0 10,404 113 2 549 0 55 11,380 
			 2009 190 0 7,698 96 30 5 0 149 8,168 
		
	
	A very large proportion, approximately 95 per cent. of the total number of animals involved in the procedures either died during the procedure, or were humanely culled at the end of the procedures, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986:
	http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/hoc/321/321-xa.htm
	Sections 3D, 14 (3) and 15 (2) detail the requirement for specific approval to keep animals alive after the completion of any regulated procedure.
	A small number of animals, are approved for re-use in further procedures. An example of re-use was the herd of goats retained at Alverstoke for use in the hyperbaric research programme supporting the Ministry of Defence's Submarine Escape Rescue and Abandonment System. This programme ceased in November 2006, as formally announced in a written ministerial statement on 6 February 2008,  Official Report, column 70WS.

Armed Forces: Training

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he received on the research and assessment facility at the Defence Academy prior to the decision to close it; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 10 March 2010
	No representations were made prior to the decision to close the Research and Assessment Branch at the Academy.
	The decision was taken as part of our regular review of Defence spending to ensure resources are focused on our top priority-success and support to operations in Afghanistan. To support this, the Secretary of State for Defence announced on 15 December 2009 a package amounting to £900 million over three years. However, in taking the latter decision we must prioritise rigorously and recognise that tough choices are required to better match the Defence programme to the available resources.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which company has been awarded the contract to supply 200 vehicles as part of the light protected patrol vehicle programme; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: A contract has not yet been awarded as the Ministry of Defence is still conducting the Concept Vehicle Evaluation trial phase of the Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) Programme. Two contenders, which could fill the LPPV requirement, are currently being trialled, and it is expected that this phase will be completed in April 2010.

WALES

Out of Area Treatment

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on arrangements for cross-border healthcare.

Peter Hain: I have regular meetings with the First Minister and we keep under review the cross-border implications of the policies of both Governments. The position of the Governments in Westminster and Wales is that the border should not represent a barrier to provision of health care, and to that end we have worked closely together on the Revised Protocol for Cross-border Healthcare. The Protocol provides increased clarity on commissioning and funding arrangements and on access standards for patients. It ensures patients who live in border regions and who access health services across the border will continue to see improvements to their services. Across the entire UK the Government remain committed to the core defining principles of an NHS funded by tax and free at the point of use.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Illegal Immigrants

Bob Neill: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many people have been identified as working illegally on the parliamentary estate in each of the last five years.

Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer provided on 8 March 2010,  Official Report, column 3W.

Nurseries

Christopher Chope: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many  (a) staff and  (b) hon. Members are on the waiting list for a place in the proposed House of Commons day nursery for one or more children.

Nick Harvey: There is no such waiting list at the present time, but much interest has been expressed informally.

Nurseries

Christopher Chope: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when an application was made to  (a) English Heritage and  (b) Westminster city council to make changes to 1 Parliament Street in connection with the creation of a day nursery; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the application.

Nick Harvey: The design work, which is needed before any application is made, is nearing completion. Any applications made for listed building and change of use consents will be made to Westminster City Council: these will be in the public domain and available in the usual way.

Nurseries

Christopher Chope: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when the House of Commons Commission met to discuss the public petition against the closure of facilities at the Astor Suite, Bellamy's Bar and Bellamy's Club Room.

Nick Harvey: The petition was referred to the Commission at its meeting of 8 March 2010.

Nurseries

Christopher Chope: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for West Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) of 16 March 2010,  Official Report, column 731W, on nurseries, how much time was saved as a result of not referring the matter to the Finance and Services Committee.

Nick Harvey: Referring the matter to the Finance and Services Committee would have delayed the opening of the nursery by introducing a further stage in the process of approval. The nursery would not then have been available for Members' use in the autumn.

Nurseries

Christopher Chope: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the Oral Answer to the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh) of 11 March 2010,  Official Report, column 428, on Bellamy's bar, for what reasons 1 Parliament Street was preferred to the North Curtain corridor for the location of a day nursery.

Nick Harvey: Following assessment of the potential sites and advice on their suitability from three child care specialists, 1 Parliament street's advantages over North Curtain Corridor as a location for a nursery included direct access, ease of conversion, its greater degree of natural light and the fact that no Members' rooms are affected. In addition, the provisional costs including fees of converting 1 Parliament street were provisionally estimated at £490,000 excluding VAT, compared with £607,000 excluding VAT, for North Curtain.

Speaker's Adviser

Christopher Chope: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission whether the financial implications of creating a new post of special adviser to the Speaker were  (a) discussed by the House of Commons Commission and  (b) referred to the Finance and Services Committee.

Nick Harvey: No.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bangladesh: Water

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance the Government are giving to Bangladesh to tackle salinity in  (a) land and  (b) groundwater; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: Supporting Bangladesh to meet the challenges of climate change, including rising land and groundwater salinity, is an important priority for the Department for International Development (DFID).
	Since 2003, the UK has disbursed £4.6 million to the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) managed by the United Nations Development Programme, which has helped the Government and vulnerable communities to better manage the impact of climate change, including rising salinity. For example, some 34,000 people are benefiting from rainwater harvesting and pond sand filters in Satkhira, one of the worst saline affected districts. We recently committed a further £12 million to a second phase of CDMP, and £60 million to a wider Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Climate Change (subject to approval by the Government of Bangladesh), both of which will be drawn upon for similar activities in the future.
	The Sanitation, Hygiene and Water Supply Project managed by UNICEF, to which the UK has provided £36 million, is contributing to better national monitoring of water salinity. We are also supporting innovations such as the cultivation of saline-tolerant vegetables in pilot areas.

Burma: Health Services

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding he plans to allocate to the Mae Tao Clinic on the Thailand-Burma border in each of the next three years.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) allocated £120,000 to the Mae Tao Clinic in 2009-10. DFID has recently received a funding request from the Mae Tao Clinic, for a continuation of funding over the next two financial years, which we are considering.

Burma: International Assistance

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of World Bank  (a) funding and  (b) technical advice for development projects in Burma.

Gareth Thomas: The World Bank has approved no new funding for Burma since 1987 and has no plans to resume its programme. It does not give advice on development projects in Burma. It did however provide valuable technical advice as part of the international humanitarian response to Cyclone Nargis which struck Burma in May 2008.
	The UK Government would not support a resumption of World Bank funding for Burma until the country has made genuine progress towards political reconciliation and respect for human rights.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children: Day Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what payments the National Childminding Association has received from his Department in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: The total payments made by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to the National Childminding Association (NCMA) in each the last three years are as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 April 2007 to March 2008 1,804,136.00 
			 April 2008 to March 2009 2,138,095.00 
			 April 2009 to October 2009 1,117,350.00 
		
	
	The bulk of these totals reflect the regular quarterly payments to the NCMA for the work highlighted in each year's Strategic Grant that it receives from the DCSF to support children, families and communities across the country and help deliver departmental priorities and programmes, with a particular focus on further enhancing the professionalization and professionalism of childminders. The four broad objectives of the Association's Strategic Grant are to:
	Support families to access the child care they need;
	Improve outcomes for children by developing a highly qualified home-based child care work force;
	Narrow the gap for disadvantaged and vulnerable families by raising the quality and scope of childminding practice;
	Promote integrated working and childcare initiatives.

Departmental Consultants

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department has spent on  (a) advertising and  (b) consultants in each year since its inception; and how much he expects to spend in each of the next two years.

Diana Johnson: The Department's spend on advertising budgets since inception on 28 June 2007 is outlined in the following table. The figures include media spend but do not include production and fees. Figures for 2009/10 are for spend billed to 24 November 2009.
	The cost for consultants cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost. Anticipated advertising spend for the next two years cannot be provided at this time.
	
		
			   £ (exc. VAT) 
			   Total 
			 2007/08 4,659,786 
			 2008/09 13,891,106 
			 2009/10 4,260,609

Departmental Official Hospitality

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department spent on  (a) alcohol and  (b) entertainment in the last 12 months.

Diana Johnson: Details of expenditure on entertainment recorded by the Department in the last financial year are as follows:
	2008-09: £16,122.
	The figure excludes costs incurred as part of official events or formal meetings held to further departmental business. DCSF is unable to separately identify the costs of alcohol from those of general entertainment; as such expenditure is claimed and recorded under the general heading of Entertainment.
	The basic rules governing hospitality are set by HM Treasury.
	 (a) The following guidance is issued by my Department to staff on the provision of alcohol.
	There is a general principle that alcohol should not be provided at public expense and never when only civil servants are present.
	Moderate amounts of alcohol can be provided at public expense when entertaining non-civil servants if not providing alcohol might be regarded as unusual or cause embarrassment. Examples of such events are hospitality from Ministers, at publicity events such as launches or the rare occasions when senior staff judge that official business can best be transacted by hosting a meeting over lunch or dinner.
	 (b) Hospitality expenditure is limited to occasions when official business can best be transacted in that way. Entertainment is usually restricted to where senior managers (deputy director or above) are acting as a host and expenditure must be approved in advance by a director or executive board member.

Teachers: City of York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the gross average salary of a full-time teacher in local authority schools in the City of York was in  (a) cash and  (b) real terms in each year since 1996-97.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available for the City of York because it is not possible to verify the reliability of the data source at the constituency level.
	The following table provides the average salary of teachers in service in local authority maintained schools in cash terms and real terms for York local authority, in each March, 1997 to 2008.
	
		
			  Average salary of full-time regular teachers( 1)  in service in local authority maintained schools( 2)  in cash and real terms( 3) ,  Years: March 1997 to March 2008 ,  Coverage: York local authority 
			  £ 
			   York local authority 
			  As at  March  each year  Cash terms  Real terms 
			 1997 22,600 29,400 
			 1998 23,200 29,500 
			 1999 24,100 29,900 
			 2000 24,900 30,400 
			 2001 26,900 32,400 
			 2002 27,800 32,800 
			 2003 29,700 33,800 
			 2004 30,600 33,900 
			 2005 32,100 34,700 
			 2006 33,100 35,100 
			 2007(4) 34,300 35,300 
			 2008(4) 34,800 34,800 
			 (1) Teachers of all grades including school leadership. (2) There are no city technology colleges or academies in York local authority. (3) Real terms figures calculated at 2007-08 prices using 4 January 2010 GDP deflators. (4) Provisional.  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest £100  Source: Database of Teacher Records

Teachers: Licensing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what representations he has received on the proposals contained in his Department's White Paper, Your child, your schools, our future, to introduce a system for the re-licensing of teachers every five years.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 15 march 2010
	 We have received representations via correspondence from MPs, teachers' unions and members of the public about our proposals to introduce the licence to practise.
	We are continuing discussions with teachers' unions through our social partnership and with the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) to ensure that we design a licensing system which will bring real benefits to the profession.
	Subject to the passage of Children, Schools and Families Bill, we remain committed to holding a public consultation on our detailed proposals for the licensing arrangements which will be set out in draft regulations in the spring.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Food

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to ensure that the meat and dairy products procured by his Department and its non-departmental bodies are free range or produced to standards equivalent to those of the RSPCA Freedom Food scheme.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) takes account of advice received from the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when establishing procurement arrangements for the purchase of food.
	The Department receives procurement services from Central Procurement Division in the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP). DFP also published guidance in 2008, 'Integrating Sustainable Development into the Procurement of Food and Catering Services', which aims to develop the partnership between the public sector in Northern Ireland and its food suppliers as part of the procurement process.
	Guidance produced by DEFRA under the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative also encourages and shows public sector bodies how they can specify higher animal welfare standards, including farm assurance schemes and higher level schemes such as the RSPCA's Freedom Food standards.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Security

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps he plans to take to improve airport security.

Paul Clark: Following the incident on Christmas day, the Government have directed airports to introduce explosive trace detection equipment at all UK airports by the end of the year. We have also brought into force new restrictions which tighten up security screening for transit passengers. Alongside this body scanners have been deployed at Heathrow and Manchester airports with further deployments expected.
	We also continue to work within the European Union context to drive up standards in aviation security across Europe.
	The threat to aviation and the responses and measures in force are kept under ongoing review and measures are reviewed and amended as needed.

Bus Services: Lancashire

Greg Pope: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he expects to announce his decision on whether to proceed with the proposed Pennine Reach bus service.

Sadiq Khan: I expect to announce a decision on the bid for Programme Entry very soon.

Channel Tunnel Railway Line: Construction

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of construction jobs that were created by High Speed One; and how many and what proportion of those employed were  (a) UK nationals,  (b) nationals of other EU countries and  (c) non-EU nationals.

Chris Mole: Surveys of contractors and subcontractors employed by London and Continental Railways (LCR) to develop the High Speed 1 railway suggest that the project created about 8,000 jobs and an estimated 50 million man hours were worked during the ten year construction period.
	The surveys indicate that some 22 nationalities were employed during the course of the project. However, a further breakdown of this figure is not available because most of the work force was not employed directly by LCR.

Departmental Location

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department spent on the relocation of staff from posts in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point constituency in each of the last five years.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport (central) and five of its agencies (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Government Car and Despatch Agency, Highways Agency, Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Vehicle Certification Agency) have not relocated staff from Essex or Castle Point constituency in the last five years. The Driving Standards Agency does not record such relocations separately and could only provide the information at disproportionate cost. The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency spent £11,259.74 relocating staff from Essex in 2005-2006, £59,267.34 in 2006-2007, and nothing in subsequent years. Further detail could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Driving: Licensing

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2010,  Official Report, column 1364W, on driving: licensing, how many people were disqualified from driving in each category of disqualification in the last two years for which figures are available.

Paul Clark: The information requested is not readily available and would incur disproportionate costs to gather. The Ministry of Justice publish a comprehensive breakdown of offences and disqualifications. This can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/criminalannual.htm

Heathrow Airport: Aircraft

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the average daily aircraft movement rate was at Heathrow Airport in each year from 2000 to 2009.

Paul Clark: The following table shows the average daily aircraft movement rate at Heathrow airport in each year from 2000 to 2009.
	
		
			   Average daily aircraft movements 
			 2000 1,279 
			 2001 1,270 
			 2002 1,278 
			 2003 1,270 
			 2004 1,304 
			 2005 1,309 
			 2006 1,307 
			 2007 1,319 
			 2008 1,311 
			 2009 1,278 
			  Source: Civil Aviation Authority-airport statistics 2009, table 3.2.

Heathrow Airport: Passengers

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of air passenger journeys made to Heathrow Airport by  (a) underground,  (b) rail,  (c) car and  (d) taxi in each year from 2000 to 2009.

Paul Clark: The following table shows the mode of transport used to get to/from Heathrow airport by terminating passengers in each year from 2000 to 2008. Data for 2009 are not available.
	
		
			   Tube (percentage)  Rail (percentage)  Private car (percentage)  Taxi/minicab (percentage)  Other (percentage)  Total terminating passengers (million) 
			 2000 14 8 34 26 18 44.7 
			 2001 13 8 35 27 17 41.1 
			 2002 13 9 36 26 16 39.6 
			 2003 14 9 36 25 16 40.1 
			 2004 14 9 35 26 16 43.6 
			 2005 13 10 34 26 17 43.6 
			 2006 13 9 34 28 16 44.2 
			 2007 15 10 33 27 16 44.0 
			 2008 16 10 31 26 17 43.0 
			  Notes: 1. These results are based on a survey of departing passengers only; that is those flying from Heathrow and excluding transfer passengers. It is assumed that arriving and departing passengers share the same modal characteristics. 2. Where there is more than one mode of transport used, the final mode is presented in this table. 3. 'Other' includes bus/coach, hire car, and other modes of transport.  Source: Civil Aviation Authority's Passenger Survey

Heathrow Airport: Railways

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the statement of 11 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 446-50, on high speed rail, if he will place in the Library a copy of the remit that has been given to Lord Mawhinney to advise the Government on a high speed station at Heathrow Airport.

Chris Mole: A copy of a letter from the Secretary of State for Transport to Lord Mawhinney setting out the terms of reference of the review of high speed rail access to Heathrow airport has been placed in the Libraries of the House and is also available on the Department for Transport's website at:
	www.dft.gov.uk

Immobilisation of Vehicles

Bob Neill: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether his Department has provided guidance to local authorities on procedures for towing away wrongly-parked vehicles.

Sadiq Khan: Chapter 8 of the Department's 'Operational Guidance to Local Authorities: Parking Policy and Enforcement (March 2008)' provides detailed advice on removal of vehicles that are deemed to be parked in contravention.

Maidstone East Railway Line

Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the evidence from the loading records  (a) referred to in the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of 24 February 2010 , Official Report, column 132WH on Hastings Rail Service and  (b) used to determine that running eight-car trains on the Maidstone East line, as proposed in the Kent route utilisation strategy, would be sustainable.

Chris Mole: Loading data are the intellectual property of the train operating company concerned. Requests for information should be directed to the managing director of Southeastern as follows:
	Mr. Charles Horton
	Southeastern
	Friars Bridge Court
	41-45 Blackfriars Road
	London
	SE1 8PG.

Motorcycles: Driving Tests

Michael Fallon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what representations he has received on recent changes to the motorcycle test procedures.

Paul Clark: Since the new test was introduced on 27 April 2009, the Driving Standards Agency has received representations from the public and interest groups-primarily about the number of Module 1 test delivery points especially in rural areas, and incidents occurring during the Module 1 test. Some have asked for details of the test design to be reviewed.
	In October 2009, the Transport Select Committee took evidence about the new motorcycling test. The Committee's report has been published today.
	Driving Standards Agency staff have also been engaged with motorcycling and other interest groups through stakeholder forums and public consultation exercises.

Parking Offences: Closed Circuit Television

Bob Neill: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 25 January 2010,  Official Report, column 528W, on parking offences: closed circuit television, whether a privacy impact assessment was produced in relation to the use of local authority CCTV for parking enforcement; and on what basis CCTV may be used for civil parking enforcement.

Sadiq Khan: The certifications we grant to enable CCTV equipment to be used for civil parking enforcement are concerned only with the security, reliability and integrity of the evidence the equipment produces in accordance with regulations made under the Traffic Management Act 2004. We do not seek any information about privacy impact assessments that local authorities may have undertaken for their CCTV systems.
	The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007-SI 2007 No. 3483-and The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (Approved Devices) (England) Order 2007-SI 2007 No. 3486-prescribe the statutory basis for the use of CCTV for civil parking enforcement. With regard to other guidance we have issued on the use of CCTV for that purpose, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 6 January 2010,  Official Report, column 330W.

Railways: Construction

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport which sites within a 50 mile radius of Amersham have been identified as possible residential sites for workers on High Speed Two.

Chris Mole: Issues relating to the construction of High Speed Two, were the Government to decide to take it forward following full public consultation in the autumn, would be considered during the more detailed design stages. The Government would expect to seek powers by a Hybrid Bill, so construction and other proposals which required statutory powers would be open to full parliamentary scrutiny.

Railways: Construction

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  if he will publish the hydrogeological risk assessment commissioned by his Department on the effect on the  (a) ground water and  (b) aquifer in the Chilterns of the construction of High Speed Two;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to ensure the protection of boreholes and springs in the Chilterns region against contaminants as a result of the construction of High Speed Two;
	(3)  if he will estimate the likely cost of mitigation of any damage to aquifers in the Chilterns resulting from the construction of High Speed Two.

Chris Mole: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 22 March 2010,  Official Report, column 81W.

Railways: Fares

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the availability of Oyster cards at mainline stations; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: The retail of Oyster Pay-As-You-Go is limited to London, its area of operation. Stations jointly served by London overground and/or London underground and national rail services are able to issue passengers with new Oyster cards. The Southern and Southeastern train operators also sell the cards at their staffed stations in the Pay-As-You-Go area.

Railways: Fixed Penalties

Anne Main: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport on how many occasions financial penalties have been issued to train operating companies for failure to provide enough seats for rail passengers in each of the last four quarters.

Chris Mole: holding answer 10 March 2010
	A small number of train operators have arrangements in their franchise agreements under which they pay amounts to the Department for Transport in cases where they fail to provide the scheduled number of seats on nominated services. The three operators are Southern (until September 2009), c2c, and Chiltern.
	The number of occasions for which a financial penalty has been paid by a train operating company in these circumstances in each of the last four reporting quarters is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Training operating compan ies 
			   12 weeks ending 
			  2 May 2009 25 July 2009 17 October 2009 9 January 2010 
			 Number of occasions 233 201 141 71

Railways: Freight

David Anderson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps his Department is taking to encourage the transport of freight by rail.

Chris Mole: In September 2008 we announced an additional funding of £67 million to the sustainable distribution fund. £61 million of this is allocated to the capital budget from which the freight facilities grant allocations are made. We also provide £24 million of funding for mode shift grants through the rail environmental benefit procurement scheme (REPS). The scheme operates until 31 March 2010, when the mode shift revenue support (MSRS) scheme will replace it. And in the last three years the Government have announced record levels of rail freight investment to support continued growth including £200 million towards the development of a strategic freight network and over £150 million of funding towards the provision of infrastructure enhancement for freight through the productivity transport innovation fund.

Railways: Greater London

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the punctuality rating was of each rail route serving London in each year from 2005 to 2010; and which company operated each such route in each year.

Chris Mole: The Office of Rail Regulation shows quarterly and annual punctuality data (the Public Performance Measure) for each operator in its National Rail Trends publication. A link to the website is as follows:
	http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1863
	Information on the punctuality of each route serving London is not held by the Department for Transport. Network Rail is responsible for performance data for the rail industry. The hon. Member may wish to contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for such information:
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	Kings Place
	90 York Way
	London, N1 9AG.

JUSTICE

Youth Offending

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of youth offending.

Maria Eagle: We have made excellent progress in the last 12 years. The national statistics published last week show that the frequency rate of juvenile reoffending has fallen, with a 24.8 per cent. reduction between 2000 and 2008.
	This is in addition to a 12.2 per cent. fall in the number of young people entering the criminal justice system between 2000-01 and 2008-09.

Young Offenders

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions his Department has had with the Department for Children, Schools and Families on policy to prevent children and young people entering the criminal justice system.

Maria Eagle: Youth justice is the joint responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Children, Schools and Families and therefore such discussions are routine. Through the Youth Crime Action Plan we made a commitment to reduce the rate of young people entering the criminal justice system by a fifth by 2020. Figures released last November show that this has already been achieved and work continues across both Departments to build on this success.

Witness Protection

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps have been taken to improve witness protection arrangements in magistrates courts in the last three years.

Claire Ward: The Government are committed to ensuring that witnesses who attend court are kept safe and protected. Since 2007, Her Majesty's Courts Service has issued improved guidance which seeks to safeguard the safety of witnesses at court and invested over £825,000 to improve facilities for witnesses. This includes the upgrading and installation of new video link equipment; and provision of in-court witness screens so witnesses are better able to give evidence effectively and safely.

Reoffending

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of prison in reducing reoffending.

Maria Eagle: Prison plays a crucial role in punishing and reforming the most serious, dangerous and persistent offenders. There is a range of programmes in prisons to help reduce the level of reoffending, and there is considerable international evidence to support their effectiveness.

Jury Selection

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what criteria apply to the selection of jury members; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Ward: Jury members are selected at random. Anyone registered as an elector and aged 18 to 69 who has been ordinarily resident in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for any period of at least five years is qualified to serve. That is subject to two categories of disqualified people: certain people suffering from mental disorder and those on bail or who have received certain prison or community sentences.

End of Custody Licence Scheme

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effects on the size of the prison population of ending the end of custody licence scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The end of custody licence scheme was withdrawn on 12 March. This is expected to increase the prison population by an additional 1,000 to 1,200 prisoners by the end of April, as those who would have been released serve an additional 18 days in custody. Sufficient headroom exists to accommodate these prisoners within existing capacity.

Prisoners: Literacy and Numeracy

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to increase levels of literacy and numeracy among the prison population.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice works closely in partnership with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills who take the lead on offender learning matters. This partnership has helped enable the Learning and Skills Council, through its education providers, to increase and improve the quantity and quality of learning provision in prisons.

Antisocial Behaviour

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding he plans to allocate for the purpose of extending Victim Support services to all victims and witnesses bringing antisocial behaviour cases in magistrates courts.

Claire Ward: Victim Support has agreed to support victims and witnesses bringing antisocial behaviour cases in magistrates courts as part of their existing witness service at no additional cost.

Courts: Video Conferencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department has issued guidance in respect of its virtual court pilot scheme on whether a person who appears in court over a video link from a prison or a police station may be held to be in contempt of court.

Claire Ward: No guidance has been issued in relation to contempt of court in virtual court cases.
	The legislative framework for virtual courts is in sections 57A-57D of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (as, amended). The legislation provides that the accused is to be treated as present in court when appearing through a live link under those sections. Case law and legislation concerning contempt in the face of the court would therefore apply to such hearings in the same way as it does to hearings where the defendant is present in court.

Departmental Food

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to ensure that the meat and dairy products procured by his Department and its non-departmental bodies are free range or produced to standards equivalent to those of the RSPCA Freedom Food scheme.

Maria Eagle: All products supplied to the Ministry must comply with all current and subsequent relevant UK and EU Legislation, regulations and directives. The suppliers are required to provide products that are sourced in compliance with EC Regulations and from assured providers under animal welfare conditions that are compatible with the UK animal welfare regulations. There are no plans solely to procure or use meat and dairy products which are free range or produced to standards equivalent to those of the RSPCA Freedom Food scheme.

George Kelly

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to respond to the request made on 1 February 2010 by the hon. Member for Torbay under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, on George Kelly, reference FOI/63308/10.

Michael Wills: A response was sent to the hon. Member last week. I apologise for the unacceptable delay, and for any inconvenience it has caused.

Lands Tribunal

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) applications for permission to appeal,  (b) notices of appeal and  (c) final hearings of an appeal in relation to appeals against leasehold valuation tribunal decisions have been dealt with by the Lands Tribunal in each year since 2005-06; what proportion of final hearings of such appeals were successful; what fees were paid to the Lands Tribunal for each type of appeal and hearing in each year; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent figures in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Bridget Prentice: The information available is shown in the following table. The Ministry of Justice records the total number of leasehold valuation appeals received in a format which includes both requests for leave to appeal and appeals lodged. Figures for  (a) and  (b) separately could be provided only at disproportionate cost by looking through each case file. In any event, files for cases which have been refused leave by the president are only retained for a year and those which go to hearing are destroyed after three years. The difference between the number of appeals received and heard is accounted for by those which are refused leave to appeal or withdrawn during the appeal process.
	
		
			  Leasehold valuation a ppeals 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10( 1) 
			 Number of appeals received 147 183 164 184 151 
			 Number of appeals heard 26 26 12 17 27 
			 Number of cases determined on paper and leave refused(2) 0 65 43 72 97 
			 Proportion of successful appeals (%) 58 23 58 53 52 
			 (1) Year to date (2) Cases received in one year may be determined in a following year 
		
	
	The Ministry of Justice does not keep information on fees paid to the Lands Tribunal for each type of appeal and hearing. However, the total fees received for each year were:
	
		
			  Lands t ribunal  f ees 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10( 1) 
			 Total fees (£) 262,262 398,564 417,879 332,943 220,103 
			 (1 )Year to date 
		
	
	The current planning forecast is that fees income in each year from 2010-11 to 2013-14 will be £300,000 per year. No forecast has been prepared beyond that date. The Ministry of Justice is currently reviewing responses to a consultation(1) which proposes an increase in current fee levels. However, current forecasts do not assume any increase in income.
	(1) Review of fees for the Lands Tribunal (Ref: CP44/09 2 December 2009 - 28 February 2010).

Prison Accommodation: Wales

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of prison accommodation in Wales.

Maria Eagle: Our most recent assessment of prison accommodation in Wales was given to the Welsh Affairs Committee in November 2009. This highlighted that North Wales is an area of strategic need for prison places within the prison estate and we are conducting a site search for a new prison in this area as well as other areas of strategic need such as London and the south-east, West Yorkshire and the north-west. We are looking to increase capacity in South Wales through the provision of a further 330 prison places at HMP Parc.

Prisons: Drugs

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy to collate at national level the  (a) quantity and  (b) type of illicit drugs seized in prisons in England and Wales.

Maria Eagle: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) collates the number and type of drug seizures in prisons. The number of drug seizures in prisons in England and Wales in 2008-09 is given in the following table. Many seizures are similar in appearance and where not attributable are not categorically identified by scientific analysis. Weight is not recorded and there are no plans to record it.
	
		
			  Drug  Number of seizures 
			 Heroin 776 
			 Cocaine 262 
			 LSD 3 
			 Amphetamines 94 
			 Barbiturates 11 
			 Cannabis 1,731 
			 Tranquilisers 32 
			 Other 2,160 
			 Total 5,069 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.

Probation: Per Capita Costs

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the average cost of probation service supervision for an individual on a 12 month  (a) anger management,  (b) domestic violence and  (c) sex offender programme.

Maria Eagle: The funding for the supervision of offenders and the delivery of programmes in the community is part of the general grant given to probation areas or trusts. The costs will vary and depend on a number of factors including the risk presented by the individual, the level of supervision required, the programme the individual attends, and the arrangements for delivery in the particular area. It is not possible to accurately disaggregate the cost of this work. Full costs of probation services will be collected and published to benchmark the whole of the probation system by the end of 2011.

Sexual Offences Act 2003

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people received a caution for an offence under section  (a) 1 and  (b) 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in each police force area in 2008.

Claire Ward: The number of offenders cautioned for offences under sections 1 and 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, by police force area in 2008 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of offenders cautioned( 1, 2 ) for offences under sections 1 and 5 of the Sexual Offences Act: 2003( 3) , by police force area, England and Wales 2008( 4) 
			  Police force area  Section1( 5)  Section 5( 6) 
			 Avon and Somerset - 1 
			 Cambridgeshire - 4 
			 Cleveland - 1 
			 Cumbria 1 - 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2 1 
			 Dorset 1 1 
			 Essex 1 1 
			 Kent 1 - 
			 Lancashire 1 - 
			 Leicestershire - 1 
			 Lincolnshire 1 1 
			 Metropolitan Police 1 3 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 2 
			 Staffordshire 1 - 
			 Suffolk - 1 
			 Sussex 1 - 
			 Thames Valley 1 2 
			 Warwickshire - 2 
			 West Midlands - 1 
			 Gwent - 1 
			 England and Wales 13 23 
			 (1 )The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence. (2) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These are included in the totals. (3 )The Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into force on 1 May 2004. 
			 (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (5) Section 1 includes the following offences: Rape of a female aged under 16. Rape of a female aged 16 or over. Rape of a male aged under 16. Rape of a male aged 16 or over. Attempted rape of a female aged under 16 Attempted rape of a female aged 16 or over. Attempted rape of a male aged under 16. Attempted rape of a male aged 16 or over. (6) Section 5 includes the following offences: Rape of a female child under 13 by a male. Rape of a male child under 13 by a male. Attempted rape of a female child under 13 by a male. Attempted rape of a male child under 13 by a male.  Note: A police force area not listed in the table means nil data.  Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit-Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

Vetting: Charities

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether individuals with a past conviction for an offence of buggery are required to declare the conviction when applying to work with a charity involved with vulnerable people after the offence is  (a) spent and  (b) deleted; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Ward: The law currently requires individuals to declare all spent convictions where they are applying to work with vulnerable people as this is an area of activity falling within the Exceptions Order to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This obligation applies even if the conviction has been deleted from the Police National Computer. We are aware that a conviction for buggery, before aspects of the offence were decriminalised, may relate to consensual homosexual conduct between adults. Therefore, it is our intention to bring forward an amendment to the Exceptions Order so that an individual does not have to disclose a conviction for buggery where this was for behaviour which has subsequently been decriminalised. However, elements of the offence of buggery under the Sexual Offences Act 1956 remain criminal today; therefore the amendment will not affect the obligation to declare a conviction for buggery where the behaviour which attracted the conviction would still be a criminal offence.

Voting Rights: Armed Forces

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects his Department to receive the report of the working group on the voting rights of members of the armed forces.

Michael Wills: The working group meets on a regular basis, most recently in early March. I have written to parliamentary colleagues who attended the meeting on service voting in December to give an interim update from the working group and share the group's consideration of the suggestions made at that meeting. The Government are consulting on longer term options to support service personnel and their families to vote in elections, and I have also written to Opposition parties, asking that the parties sign up to the commitment to consult on a cross-party basis.

Voting Systems

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to ensure that implementation of the provisions proposed in Clause 90 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill does not result in the  (a) ending of next-day counts in constituencies in which such counts are a long established practice and  (b) counting of votes cast in several constituencies in a central location at the forthcoming general election.

Michael Wills: Clause 90 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill was shared with Opposition representatives as it was developed, and was welcomed widely across the House. By requiring returning officers to take reasonable steps to start the counting of votes by 2 am and to give a reasoned account when they fail to do so, the clause creates a clear expectation that, in line with the clearly expressed view of Parliament on this issue, the counting of votes should start by 2 am, where possible.
	It is particularly important for the purposes of the new duty that returning officers look carefully at existing arrangements and past practice and consider the additional steps which they can reasonably take in order to start the counting of votes given on ballot papers by 2 am. Past practice is not necessarily a guide to whether the duty to take all reasonable steps to start the count by 2 am will have been fulfilled. Clause 90 would preserve the operational independence of the returning officer, while providing fresh impetus towards counting votes as quickly as possible. In striking this balance, clause 90 respects the important discretion of the returning officer to make decisions to take account of local circumstances, such as the particular geography of a constituency. In this way, the location of the count remains a matter for the returning officer in each case, taking into account both the legislative framework and local circumstances.

Youth Justice: Finance

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2010,  Official Report, column 703W, on Youth Justice: finance, how much expenditure was re-charged from the Youth Justice Board by the National Offender Management Service Service Development Group in respect of administration costs in 2009-10.

Maria Eagle: The Youth Justice Board has provided the National Offender Management Service's (NOMS) Service Development Group with £118.180 million of funding to deliver about 2,400 custodial places and associated services for all young men aged 15 to 17 and 17-year-old young women during the 2009-10 period. This includes £5.070 million for corporate overheads and £2.548 million for the NOMS Young People's Team.

TREASURY

Boilers: Government Assistance

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to discuss providing more funding for the boiler scrappage scheme.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The pre-Budget report announced £50 million to fund a £400 incentive to help up to 125,000 residential consumers who live in owned or privately rented homes in England to upgrade their boiler.
	Treasury Ministers meet with colleagues regularly to discuss a range of issues as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Departmental Computer Software

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood (Mr. Hurd) of 1 March 2009,  Official Report, column 916W, on departmental ICT, what fonts were purchased by  (a) his Department and  (b) HM Revenue and Customs; and what consideration was given to using fonts available in software packages already in use in each.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Disability Discrimination Act requires Departments to make their materials as accessible as possible and accessibility research suggests that serif fonts are more difficult to read. For the Treasury the existing fonts on the system were examined and none met the accessibility requirements. The core Treasury font was therefore changed to a sans serif font, Humanist 777, ensuring Treasury documents are more accessible.
	HM Revenue and Customs purchased a package of font symbols and the cost includes licenses for all of the Department's designers (20 licences).
	This new range adds to and updates the Department's library of font symbols to include more up to date images such as mobile phones, Blackberry and iPhone as these were not available in the original software package.

Departmental Food

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that the meat and dairy products procured by his Department and its non-departmental body are free range or produced to standards equivalent to those of the RSPCA Freedom Food scheme.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Meat and dairy products are provided to HM Treasury staff in London under a facilities management contract. In line with guidance from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, suppliers under this contract procure meat and dairy products which have been produced under industry welfare standards. Directly procured dairy products are also produced under appropriate industry standards.

Departmental Information Officers

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) press officers and  (b) communications staff were employed by his Department (i) in each of the last five years and (ii) on the latest date for which figures are available; and what the cost of employing such staff was in each such year.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The number of full-time equivalent press officers employed by HM Treasury is nine. In addition HM Treasury employs 22 staff working directly on publishing, digital communications, internal communications and strategic communications. Information on the costs for each year could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	For information on press officers for the previous five years I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers given to the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr. Osborne) on 11 January 2005,  Official Report, column 445W, my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz) on 5 June 2006,  Official Report, column 177W, the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 8 October 2007,  Official Report, column 213W, the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Browne) on 21 February 2008,  Official Report, column 939W and the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 19 June 2009,  Official Report, 546W.
	Previous information on communication staff is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Publications

David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the dates of publication of any regular statistics or reports by his Department have been affected by planning for the forthcoming general election.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: On the announcement of a General Election, the Cabinet Secretary issues guidance to Departments on their activities during the pre-election period. This will be published on the Cabinet Office website.
	Regular statistical releases and reports will continue to be issued and published during the election period on dates which have been pre-announced.

Departmental Visits Abroad

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department and its agencies, HM Revenue and Customs and the Valuation Office Agency spent on visits abroad by  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in each of the last three years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: holding answer 8 March 2010
	 All travel undertaken by Ministers and civil servants is in accordance with the "Ministerial Code" and the "Civil Service Management Code" respectively. All spending on subsistence is made in accordance with the principles set out in "Managing Public Money".
	The Government published a list of all overseas travel by Ministers costing over £500 on 16 July 2009, and this is available at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/ministers/travel_gifts.aspx

Equitable Life Assurance Society

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to ensure that its database of contact details of former Equitable Life policy-holders eligible for payments under any payment scheme is accurate and up-to-date.

Liam Byrne: Officials have been carrying out work on scheme design in parallel with Sir John Chadwick's work. Ensuring contact details are up to date and accurate is part of this work.

Industry: Private Sector Investment

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department made of the level of private sector investment in industry in real terms in  (a) 1994,  (b) 1999,  (c) 2004 and  (d) 2009.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the level of private sector investment in industry in real terms in (a) 1994, (b) 1999, (c) 2004 and (d) 2009. (322804)
	The attached table gives estimates of Business investment analysed by industrial sector for the years requested. The estimates are chained volume measures and are in 2005 prices. Estimates for other periods are given in the latest Business investment Statistical Bulletin which can be downloaded using this link:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/bi0210.pdf
	
		
			  Business investment, industrial sector-chained volume measure, 2005 prices 
			  £ million 
			   Private sector   
			   Manufacturing  Other production  Construction  Distribution services  Other services  Public corporations  Total business Investment 
			 1994 14454 13500 1205 7566 30677 3746 66944 
			 1999 19552 13447 2101 12621 58691 2799 108894 
			 2004 14534 9876 3979 18649 66975 3250 117047 
			 2009 11,044 16,562 2,046 14,658 67,465 3,987 117,762 
			  Source: ONS Business Investment

Infrastructure UK: Legal Opinion

Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria were used to select Linklaters as legal adviser to Infrastructure UK; how the contract for those services was advertised; how many other companies tendered for that contract; and what the monetary value is of that contract.

Ian Pearson: The requirement for legal services was competed under the Office of Government Commerce buying solutions "Legal Services - major projects (including complex, innovative PFI/PPP)" framework ref RM373/L8. The requirement was "advertised" via a collaborative Framework Agreement.
	The following evaluation criteria were used:
	Demonstrable capability of the team in the relevant areas, particularly strong, proven skills in public finance initiative/public-private partnership lender advisory work on closed transactions.
	Demonstrable capability to work with public sector authorities in the PFI/PPP sector
	Capacity and strength in depth in the firm, to provide the necessary support as and when required
	Costs/Fee proposal
	Responses were received from eight firms, three of whom were invited to interview.
	No monetary value was assigned to the contract. A schedule of hourly rates was agreed subject to staff seniority.

Members: Correspondence

John Whittingdale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the reply from the Minister for the Cabinet Office dated 9 March 2010,  Official Report, column 299W, on Members: correspondence, when he expects to reply to the letters of 10 December 2008 and 15 July 2009 which were transferred to his Department on 22 December 2008 and 22 July 2009.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Our records show a reply was sent to the hon. Member on 7 January 2009, however, a scanned copy of the reply was not retained. I have provided a replacement to the hon. Member.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the performance of the Valuation Office Agency in respect of the separate rating of port businesses.

Ian Pearson: The performance of the Valuation Office Agency has been considered in a Framework Review, conducted by an HMRC Director reporting to the Minister then responsible for the Agency, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury. It was also dealt with in the Government's response to the Treasury Select Committee's (TSC) First Report of Session 2008-09, Administration and expenditure of the Chancellor's Departments, 2007-08 (HC 35).
	The Framework Review is available at:
	http://www.voa.gov.uk/publications/framework_doc/voa-review-09.pdf

Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation

Bob Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many public houses there were on the Rating List in each local authority area in England in  (a) 1997 and (b) 2010.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 December 2009,  Official Report, column 1303W, in respect of the 1997 data. Information for the draft 2010 Rating Lists was first published by the Valuation Office Agency on its website on 18 December 2009.
	http://www.voa.gov.uk/publications/statistical_releases/Table3-England_RV_by_scat_code.xls
	Information for Public Houses can be found under:
	Public Houses/Pub Restaurants (National Scheme)-SCAT 226
	Public Houses/Pub Restaurants (Inc. Lodge) (National Scheme)-SCAT 227

Public Sector: Pensions

Natascha Engel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the net cost to the Exchequer was of public sector pensions in each year since 1980, expressed in  (a) cash terms and  (b) 2010 prices.

Liam Byrne: The net cost to the Exchequer (on a national accounts basis) of public service pensions for years 2003-04 to 2008-09 is shown in the "Contribution to TME" line of table D.1 of Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) 2009,
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pespub_pesa09.htm
	Earlier years back to 1993-94 are available in previous editions of PESA. However, data in previous PESAs are not directly consistent with PESA 2009 due to changes in data coverage and classification changes and therefore are not presented on a comparable basis.
	Data on other public sector schemes are not held centrally.

Revenue and Customs: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the outcome was of the moderation process in respect of relocation of HM Revenue and Customs customer operations staff from Lingmell House, Chorley; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what role  (a) his Department and  (b) HM Revenue and Customs plays in the moderation process in respect of relocation of staff consequent on the closure of Lingmell House, Chorley; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what commitments HM Revenue and Customs management have made to customer operations staff at Lingmell House, Chorley; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  on what dates HM Revenue and Customs wrote to customer operations staff at Lingmell House, Chorley to indicate an intention to move them to employment in a benefits and credits team; on what date HM Revenue and Customs wrote to their staff to rescind that intention; who was responsible for the reversal of that decision; if he will investigate the reasons for that reversal; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Moderation formed part of the Human Resource (HR) procedures put in place by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to facilitate the redeployment of staff from its offices, including Chorley, affected by the decisions arising from the Regional Review Programme undertaken between 2006 and 2008.
	The moderation process was developed by HMRC, in consultation with trade unions, to help staff and managers identify whether proposed redeployment options were within the pre-defined Reasonable Daily Travel limits. The process was agreed across the Department together with trade unions, with decisions taken at a local level within line management chains and with independent support and advice to ensure fairness and consistency. Moderation groups were established to make relocation decisions based upon information provided by staff during one-to-one meetings held with their managers.
	As part of the moderation process each individual's case was considered individually and personal circumstances were taken into account when deciding if a move was within reasonable daily travelling time for the person concerned.
	In February 2008 HMRC announced that Lingmell House would close with the expectation that staff working in customer operations would relocate with their work to customer operations strategic sites in Manchester or Bootle. In line with departmental guidance, customer operations staff working in Lingmell House were then considered for transfer to Manchester and Bootle.
	Following one-to-one meetings between managers and staff, decisions were taken by a moderating panel as to whether it was reasonable for an individual to relocate to one of these sites within reasonable daily travel, taking their individual personal circumstances into account. Staff were notified of the outcome of this process by letter in April 2008.
	In July 2008 a second moderation process was mistakenly carried out to consider moves for customer operations staff in the Chorley office to the Tax Credit Office in Preston. As an outcome of this moderation on 29 July 2008 HMRC wrote to customer operations staff at Lingmell House, Chorley, who were within reasonable daily travel of Preston, to indicate that they could be relocated to the Tax Credit Office at Preston.
	The outcome of this second moderation is invalid, as it was not carried out in accordance with the processes agreed between HMRC and departmental trade unions. These processes required that Chorley customer operations staff be moderated within their own business stream-customer operations-and were therefore not eligible to be moderated with the tax credits office in Preston. Changes to the business and staffing requirements in the Tax Credit Office in the second half of 2008 resulted in recruitment of further staff stopping, with no likelihood of future vacancies in that location.
	Those staff members unable to travel to their nearest customer operations strategic site at Manchester or Bootle were informed of this in an office meeting in March 2009 and issued with pre-surplus letters on 17 March 2009 to give them priority access to other jobs or to apply for early release schemes. This decision was taken by HMRC's senior regional manager for customer operations.
	After being made surplus in January 2010 some Chorley customer operations staff and the local trade union representative contacted HMRC to clarify the position with regard to the letter they had received in July 2008 about transferring to TCO Preston. The regional director's support team replied giving more details as to why the second moderation process was invalid and apologised for the confusion and unwarranted expectations that had arisen as a result of this moderation.
	At the time of the announcement on 13 January 2010 that Lingmell House would close during 2010-11, redeployment solutions had been found for 27 of the 39 staff working there. The announcement on 13 January provided staff who were unable to relocate the option to volunteer for compulsory early severance or compulsory early retirement and leave the Department by 1 April.
	HMRC will continue to help those staff who chose not to take up this option to find redeployment opportunities within the Department or in the wider civil service.

Revenue and Customs: Debt Collection

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a detailed analysis of the remissions and write-offs included in the HM Revenue and Customs Trust Statement in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09.

Stephen Timms: Paragraph 8.2 Revenue losses on page 100 of HM Revenue and Customs 2008-09 Accounts, Trust Statement sets out the value of remissions and write-offs, by head of duty, for the financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09. Case notes are also included providing the detail of large losses greater than £10 million.
	HM Revenue and Customs' 2008-09 Accounts are available at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/hmrc-accs-0809.pdf

Revenue and Customs: Debt Collection

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his Department's evaluation of the pilot exercises on the use of commercial debt collection agencies to collect debts owed to HM Revenue and Customs.

Stephen Timms: The final evaluation of the small scale pilot to test the use of commercial debt collection agencies to collect debts owed to HM Revenue and Customs has not yet been completed.

Smuggling: Tobacco

Paul Holmes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated monetary value of smuggled cigarettes, tobacco and tobacco-related products which were seized was in each year since 1997.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Data relating to the estimated value of smuggled tobacco products seized by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, and latterly the UK Border Agency, are only available going back to 2003.
	Estimates of the total value i.e. the value of the goods and associated tax, in each year since 2003 are:
	
		
			  Goods and tax values of tobacco seizures border 
			  Total (£ million) 
			   Financial year 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Goods value 44.1 43.1 49 53.8 48.5 50.1 
			 Tax 170.1 165 206.1 224.6 213.6 191.9 
			 Total 214.2 208.1 255.1 278.5 262.2 242.1

Tax Allowances: Housing

Kitty Ussher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the number of  (a) UK taxpayers and  (b) hon. Members who varied the nomination of a main residence in order to obtain private residence relief from capital gains tax in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Timms: No such estimate has been made.

Taxation

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to reduce the tax gaps in  (a) stamp duty land tax,  (b) income tax,  (c) corporation tax and  (d) excise duties.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have set out its compliance strategy and approach to reducing tax gaps in 'Protecting Tax Revenues 2009', which was published alongside the 2009 pre-Budget report and is available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pbr2009/protect-tax-revenue-5450.pdf

Taxation: Alcoholic Drinks

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average cash value was of  (a) valued added tax and  (b) alcohol duty charged on a pint of standard (i) lager, (ii) bitter and (iii) cider in each year since 1997.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The average cash value of value added tax and alcohol duty charged on a pint of lager, pint of bitter and a litre of cider can be found in Section 3 of the HM Revenue and Customs Alcohol Factsheet, available at:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=factalcohol
	The latest available annual data relate to 2009.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Lembit �pik: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people completed their tax return forms using  (a) online and  (b) printed forms in January 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The number of 2008-09 Self Assessment tax returns filed online or in paper format by 31 January 2010 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   2008-09 returns  Percentage of total received 
			 Online 6,429,899 75 
			 Paper 2,143,753 25

Valuation Office Agency: Contracts

Bob Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which company or companies have been awarded HM Revenue and Customs contracts, reference 2009/S 200-288191, for the provision of residential property data to the Valuation Office Agency.

Ian Pearson: This contract has not yet been awarded.

Valuation Office Agency: Contracts

Bob Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 4 February 2010,  Official Report, column 522W, on the Valuation Office: contracts, how much was spent with Experian in 2008-09; what datasets were purchased by the Valuation Office Agency; and for what purposes.

Ian Pearson: Costs in relation to Experian in 2008-09, which related to mapping materials for non-domestic property valuations, were £57,055.

Valuation Office Agency: Contracts

Bob Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 4 February 2010,  Official Report, column 522W, on the Valuation Office: contracts, how much was spent with  (a) Rightmove.co.uk,  (b) Bodens,  (c) Blue Starfish,  (d) Bocadillos,  (e) Brown's,  (f) Chelsea Football Club.  (g) Conflict Management Plus Ltd.,  (h) Euro RSCG Riley and  (i) ZSL London Zoo in 2008-09; what goods and services were purchased; and for what purposes.

Ian Pearson: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) spent £776,250 with Rightmove in relation to acquiring property sales data, £271 for publications with Bodens, £9,055 for training staff with Blue Starfish, £1,954 for catering and refreshments with Bocadillos, £2,673 for catering and refreshments with Browns, £293 for training with Conflict Management Plus Ltd., £23,634 for graduate surveyor recruitment and advertising with Euro RSCG Riley, and £3,200 for conference facilities with ZSL London Zoo. VOA did not incur any costs in relation to Chelsea Football Club.

Valuation Office Agency: Contracts

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which company or companies have been awarded the Valuation Office Agency contract for property data to replace the previous Rightmove.co.uk contract.

Ian Pearson: This contract has not yet been awarded.

Valuation: Caravan Sites

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the policy of the Valuation Office Agency is on valuing illegal encampments and Traveller camps for  (a) council tax and  (b) business rates; and for how many months such a dwelling or hereditament may exist before it is rated.

Ian Pearson: Where caravans are sole or main residences and the use of the site is not merely transitory, then either the land as a whole or the individual caravan pitches are liable to be banded for council tax, according to the facts of each case.
	Where land is used for caravans which are not sole or main residences, and the occupation is not merely transitory it will be non-domestic and subject to a non-domestic rateable value.
	There is no minimum period defined by statute in either case and each situation will be treated on its own merits. However, where a Traveller's caravan occupies a non-established pitch for a period materially less than 12 months, with no sign of likely return, this will generally be regarded as too transient to establish the pitch as a dwelling. The legality of the occupation is not relevant: it is the period of occupation that is considered.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Food

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will take steps to ensure that the meat and dairy products procured by her Department and its non-departmental bodies are free range or produced to standards equivalent to those of the RSPCA Freedom Food scheme.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department has a private finance initiative contract for the provision of fully serviced accommodation which includes catering. The contract is with Telereal Trillium and their catering services supplier is Eurest (part of the Compass Group UK and Ireland). Since 2003, the Department has been working with these suppliers, actively pursuing a Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative action plan and one of the key objectives of this Initiative is to raise farming standards.
	Compass Group has confirmed that they endorse the Farm Animal Welfare Council's Five Freedoms concept and provide full traceability of products and suppliers within their approved supply chain to ensure animals reared for meat, fish, milk and eggs are raised to high standards of animal welfare.
	Compass Group has also confirmed a long-standing commitment to source its seafood as sustainably as possible. They were the first food service company to achieve the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Chain of Custody certification enabling them to serve certified sustainable, MSC labelled seafood choices. Within the DWP contract many of their sites are buying products to these standards and promotional activities are run to encourage DWP staff to purchase the more ethically sourced products.
	The information requested in respect of DWP's non-departmental bodies is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Legal Costs

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department and its predecessors have spent in  (a) legal fees and  (b) compensation on legal cases concerning remuneration of its employees in each of the last 10 years.

Jonathan R Shaw: Cases for DWP are conducted both in-house and by agents acting on behalf of the Department. The information requested in respect of legal fees concerning remuneration of its employees and compensation on legal cases also concerning remuneration of its employees in each of the last 10 years is not readily available. It would involve a detailed examination of individual records held by the DWP (London and Leeds office) and from external sources from the last ten years. The information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Lost Property

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what property has been recorded as  (a) lost and  (b) stolen from her Department in the last 12 months; and what estimate has been made of the cost of the replacement of that property.

Jonathan R Shaw: In accordance with guidance from HM Treasury, the Department maintains records of certain high-value property that it owns, such as specialist equipment and plant and machinery. In the past two years, no items recorded on the register have been reported as lost or stolen.

Departmental Telephone Services

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost to her Department is of the agreements it has entered into with mobile telephone operators to provide free calls to the Department's 0800 numbers from a mobile telephone.

Jonathan R Shaw: The mobile telephone operators in question are charging the Department on the basis of a discounted per minute rate. The Department estimates that the overall cost of the scheme will, on current volumes, be less than £10 million per annum. This will be offset by reduced costs of call back by the Department at a higher rate and the associated staff costs.

Disability Living Allowance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants received awards of disability living allowance on the basis of drug or alcohol dependency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: Entitlement to disability living allowance is not dependent on a diagnosis or condition but relies instead on the care and/or mobility needs arising. In the case of someone with drug or alcohol dependency, needs may arise as a result of their substance dependence or a physical or mental complication caused by drugs or alcohol. Many people with drug or alcohol dependency may also have a mental health condition.
	The number of disability living allowance cases in payment where the main disabling condition is recorded as drug and alcohol abuse, which will represent a subset of all disability living allowance claimants with a drug or alcohol dependency, at August 2009 is 22,000.
	 Notes:
	1. The figures are rounded to the nearest hundred and have been uprated to be consistent with Work and Pensions Longitudinal Survey data.
	2. The figure shows the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and excludes people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital.
	3. Where more than one disability is present only the main disabling condition is recorded.
	4. A diagnosed medical condition does not mean that someone is automatically entitled to disability living allowance. Entitlement is dependent on an assessment of how much help someone needs with personal care and/or mobility because of their disability. These statistics are only collected for administrative purposes. For example, a customer would not be awarded disability living allowance on the basis of a diagnosis of drug/alcohol abuse. The decision is based upon the care/supervision and difficulty getting around as a result of the substance dependency and any associated physical or psychological complications.
	 Source:
	Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample.

Greater Manchester

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will set out, with statistical information related as directly as possible to Manchester, Gorton constituency, the effects on that constituency of her Department's policies since 2 May 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: DWP leads the Government's response to some of the biggest issues facing the country-welfare and pension reform-and is a key player in tackling child poverty(1). As the biggest delivery Department in the UK, DWP makes a difference to millions of people every day, helping them to lead safer, fairer and more rewarding lives that are free from poverty. We want to give people more choice and control over their lives and are committed to providing greater choice and personalised support to everyone who needs it so they have the opportunity to get into and remain in work. We believe that work works. Even in economically challenging times we know that work works for the most vulnerable and the disadvantaged.
	 Support to find work
	Through Jobcentre Plus, we are promoting work as the best form of welfare for people of working age. Since January 1998, the number of people unemployed in Manchester, Gorton has decreased by 10 per cent. to 3,891, and the number unemployed for more than one year has decreased by 63 per cent. to 515. From August 1997 to August 2009 the number of lone parents claiming income support in Manchester, Gorton has decreased by 44 per cent. to 1,890.
	Our New Deals have helped lone parents, the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, disabled people, the over 50s and partners of unemployed people to move from benefit into work. Since their inception over 2.2 million people in Great Britain have found work with the support of the New Deal, and 6,060 have been helped in Manchester, Gorton.
	 Support for children
	We introduced a target to halve child poverty by 2010-11 on the way to eradicating it by 2020. Poverty is measured using a headline indicator of the proportion of children in households with an income below 60 per cent. of contemporary household median income before housing costs. This is in line with international best practice.
	Statistics on the numbers of children living in poverty are not available at the constituency level.
	 Support for older people
	Since 1997 our strategy has been to target help on the poorest pensioners while providing a solid foundation of support for all.
	This year we will be spending over £13 billion more on pensioners than if we had continued with the policies that were in place in 1997. Around half of that money will go to the poorest third of pensioners.
	In 1997 the poorest pensioners, who received income support, lived on £69 a week (£98 in today's prices). Today pension credit, which was introduced in 2003, means no pensioner needs to live on less than £130 a week, £198.45 for couples. As of August 2009, 5,830 pensioners in Manchester, Gorton are benefiting from pension credit.
	In 2007-08 there were 900,000 fewer pensioners living in relative poverty in UK compared to 1998-99 (measured as below 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income after housing costs).
	Statistics on the proportion of pensioners living in relative poverty are not available at the constituency level. But the latest data for the north-west Government office region show that the proportion of pensioners in poverty (measured as below 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income after housing costs) fell from 28 per cent. to 18 per cent. since 1997(2).
	Pensioners in the UK also benefit from a range of additional support such as the winter fuel payment which for winter 2009-10 is worth £250 for households with someone aged between 60 to 79 and £400 for households with someone aged 80 or over. These payments provide vital reassurance to older people that they can afford to turn up their heating during cold weather. Prior to winter 1997-98 less than £60 million per year was spent helping pensioners meet their fuel bills-we now spend around £2.7 billion on winter fuel payments alone. In winter 2008-09 (the last winter for which information is available) 10,010 people aged 60 and over benefited from winter fuel payments in Manchester, Gorton.
	We have also taken steps to strengthen and protect the private pensions system to ensure people can continue to have confidence to save for their future through the establishment of the Pensions Protection Fund, the Financial Assistance Scheme and a more powerful and proactive pensions regulator.
	The protection system ensures that, unlike in 1997, people are not left without a pension even in the event that their employer becomes insolvent.
	In total 2,167 people in the north-west Government office region are receiving compensation from the Pension Protection Fund (data not available at constituency level)(3).
	We have also taken forward a radical package of pension reforms in the Pensions Acts of 2007 and 2008 which will deliver a fairer and more generous state pension and extend the opportunity of workplace pension saving to millions, many for the first time.
	The state pension reforms begin to come into effect from 2010 and will mean around three quarters of women reaching state pension age in 2010 are expected to qualify for a full basic state pension compared to half without reform.
	 Support for disabled people and carers
	Since 2001, we have significantly extended and improved civil rights for disabled people in areas such as employment, education, access to goods and services and transport. Disabled people in Manchester, Gorton will have benefited from these improvements. The Welfare Reform Act 2009 contains powers to increase choice and control for disabled adults, including disabled parents who are entitled to state support, enabling them to choose how certain state support is used to meet their individual needs. This will be trailblazed in eight local authority sites from late 2010. Older and less well off carers have gained extra help through the provisions within the National Carers Strategy.
	(1) The Department for Work and Pensions was created in 2001 and so information relates to the Department and its predecessors.
	(2) Based on three-year averages and changes are rounded to the nearest percentage point or 100,000 pensioners between 1997-98 to1999-00 and 2005-06 to 2007-08.
	(3) Regional information about assistance payments received by members from the Financial Assistance Scheme could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Housing Benefit

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will take steps to ensure that changes to the calculation of the rates of local housing allowance do not result in a loss of income for claimants.

Helen Goodman: On 15 December 2009 the Department for Work and Pensions launched its housing benefit consultation exercise: 'Supporting people into work: the next stage of Housing Benefit reform'. The consultation concluded on 22 February 2010. The Department will consider the detailed policy design of any new measures, including any changes to the calculation of local housing allowance rates, once it has considered all responses.
	The local housing allowance was rolled out from 7 April 2008 and is a more transparent way of calculating the rent element of housing benefit for people living in the deregulated private rented sector. The local authority uses the appropriate local housing allowance rate, based on the area where the person lives and the size of their household, to determine the maximum amount to be included in the housing benefit calculation. This rate is currently based on the median of rents within the local area. However, customers in some areas have benefited more than others from the local housing allowance, and high rents in some areas have driven up benefit rates. As part of its consultation exercise, the Department for Work and Pensions asked its stakeholders for input into how local housing allowance rates should be set in future to ensure customers can afford decent but not luxurious accommodation.

Jobcentre Plus: Redundancy Pay

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much Jobcentre Plus spent on redundancy payments in 2008-09; and what proportion of staff costs such expenditure represented.

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to respond to your question asking how much Jobcentre Plus spent on redundancy payments in 2008-09; and what proportion of staff costs such expenditure represented. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	There have been no compulsory redundancies in Jobcentre Plus, and wherever possible we would seek some form of voluntary release. In 2008/09 there were early departures of staff approved and the cost of these departures are shown in the table below.
	
		
			   2008/09 
			 Early departure costs (£ million) 11 
			 Proportion of staff costs (percentage) 0.6 
			  Source: Departmental financial systems 
		
	
	Early departure costs can be either early retirement or voluntary severance. These relate to staff where posts have been removed due to modernisation and efficiency measures and no suitable re-deployment opportunities existed or were likely to emerge.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the average time between application and payment was for  (a) jobseeker's allowance and  (b) income support in each month of the last two years;
	(2)  what the average processing time of applications for  (a) jobseeker's allowance and  (b) income support was in each benefit delivery centre in each month of the last two years.

Helen Goodman: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking (i) what the average time between application and payment was for (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) income support in each month of the last two years and (ii) what the average processing time of applications for (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) income support claims in each benefit delivery centre in each month of the last two years. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	We cannot measure when the customer actually receives their first payment. The payment will be issued, if the customer is eligible, on the date a letter of eligibility is issued from our system. It is then either through the banking clearance system for the relevant bank/building society, or Post Office Card Account to make the actual monies available to the customer or for the postal system to deliver a cheque payment for the customer to cash.
	Jobcentre Plus has formally published targets for the average actual clearance time (AACT) taken to process Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support claims. AACT is calculated from our benefit processing system and is a result of taking all the claim volumes processed within any given month against the total number of days each claim has taken to process. The system conducts a simple division calculation using these data sets to provide us with the AACT.
	The time used to calculate the AACT for the 2 benefits differs slightly;
	For Jobseeker's Allowance the two dates used to calculate this average are from the initial date of customer contact i.e. their call to one of our Contact Centres or the first date of unemployment (whichever is the later) to the date a decision is made on their claim and a letter of eligibility is issued to them.
	For Income Support the two dates used to calculate the AACT are from the date the customer provides all the evidence required to process the claim to the date a decision is made.
	For each benefit the AACT in days was as follows:
	
		
			   Income support  Jobseeker's allowance 
			 2005-06 12 12 
			 2006-07 11 12 
			 2007-08 11 12 
			 2008-09 10 11.5 
			 2009-10 10 11.5 
		
	
	I have arranged to have placed in the House of Commons Library the Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support AACT data for the last two years.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of jobseeker's allowance claims took more than 12 days to process in each benefit delivery centre in each month of the last two years.

Helen Goodman: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many and what proportion of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claims took more than 12 days to process in each benefit delivery centre in each month of the last two years. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Our management information system does not hold data specifically relating to JSA claims taking more than 12 days to process.

National Employment Savings Trust

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment she has made of the lessons to be learned from other Government IT projects in the delivery of services for the National Employment Savings Trust by the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority.

Angela Eagle: The Department's Enabling Retirement Savings Programme, which is responsible for delivering the workplace pension reforms has used internal and external expertise to ensure robust delivery of IT programmes, including regular contact with the Office of Government Commerce, about IT project management both in the public and private sectors over the course of the last year, the causes of project failure and the lessons that could be learned from previous Government IT projects.

National Employment Savings Trust

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the written ministerial statement of 16 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 57-8WS, on National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), if she will place in the Library a copy of the terms and conditions of the proposed Government loan to NEST.

Angela Eagle: The terms and conditions of the loan agreement between my Department and the NEST Corporation will not be finalised until after the NEST Corporation has been established.
	Once finalised, I will make public the terms and conditions of the agreement, taking into account any areas that are considered to be commercially sensitive.

National Employment Savings Trust

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the written ministerial statement of 16 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 57-58WS, on National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), over what time period she expects the proposed Government loan to NEST to be repaid.

Angela Eagle: The period in which the loan to NEST Corporation will be repaid will ultimately depend on a variety of factors, including the final costs of NEST and the size and nature of its membership. We anticipate that the total loan period, including the years in which NEST borrows from Government and the subsequent repayments, will last in the region of 20 years.

Pension Protection Fund

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations she has received from small companies on the recent changes to the Pensions Protection Fund levy.

Angela Eagle: I have received correspondence from individuals, small businesses and parliamentarians. Concerning the pension protection levy and had discussions with groups representing small businesses. The determination of the pension protection levy is a matter for the Board of the Pension Protection Fund who consult stakeholders annually on proposed changes.

Pensions

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the effect on the level of annual expenditure by her Department of an increase in the trivial commutation limit for stranded pensions in line with  (a) earnings and  (b) inflation in each of the next three years;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the effect on entitlement to income-related benefits of an annual increase in the trivial commutation limit in line with  (a) earnings and  (b) inflation in each of the next three years;
	(3)  whether she plans to increase the level of capital disregard in respect of a trivially-commuted stranded pension pot.

Angela Eagle: No estimates of the effect on income-related benefits of increasing the trivial commutation limit in line with earnings or inflation have been made.
	From November 2009 we have increased the amount of capital completely ignored in the calculation of pension credit and housing and council tax benefit for pensioners from £6,000 to £10,000. This change will benefit around 500,000 pensioners and will mean around 88 per cent. of pension credit recipients will have all of their capital ignored in their pension credit assessment.

Poverty: Children

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children in City of York constituency were living in poverty  (a) in 1997 and  (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Helen Goodman: Between 1998-09 and 2007-08 some 500,000 children were lifted out of relative poverty. Measures announced in and since Budget 2007 will lift around 550,000 children out of poverty. Absolute poverty has been halved.
	The Child Poverty Bill will bring new impetus to eradicating child poverty by 2020. It will provide a definition of success and sets a framework to guarantee that Government and their partners at national and local levels make a clear and vital contribution towards ending child poverty.
	Estimates of poverty, published in the Households Below Average Income series, only allow a breakdown of the overall number of people in poverty at Government office region level. Therefore, information for the City of York is not available, though figures relating to Yorkshire and the Humber Government office region are. These are given in the table.
	Three-year averages are used to report regional statistics as single-year estimates are subject to volatility. Figures are quoted rounded to the nearest hundred thousand children. Child poverty is presented before housing costs in line with the child poverty public service agreements.
	
		
			  Number of children in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of contemporary median for Yorkshire and the Humber, before housing costs 
			  Period  Number of children (million) 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 0.4 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 0.3 
			  Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income data. The Households Below Average Income series is available in the Library. 2. Small changes should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 3. The reference period for Households Below Average Income figures is single financial years. Three sample years have been combined as regional single year estimates are subject to volatility. 4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or equivalised) for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 5. The figures are based on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development equalisation factors. 6. Numbers of children have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand. 
		
	
	A local child poverty indicator-including constituency level information-has been developed that captures the number and proportion of children in families in receipt of out of work benefits, or in receipt of tax credits where their reported income is less than 60 per cent. of median income. Details can be found via the HM Revenue and Customs website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/child_poverty.htm
	The measure enables local partners to make an assessment of the level and geographical distribution of income deprivation in their area and focuses local partners on taking action to help raise family incomes.

Poverty: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of  (a) the general population,  (b) children and  (c) pensioners in Milton Keynes was living in poverty in each year since 1997.

Helen Goodman: The Government strongly believe that the best way to tackle adult poverty is through work. Those in work in the long term are better off than on benefits as training, promotion and career opportunities can enable many workers to attain a better standard of living for themselves and their families. We are therefore placing an increased priority on helping all groups of people, including disabled people and those with health conditions, lone parents and long term unemployed people get into rewarding and sustainable jobs.
	The Government's declared aim is to eradicate child poverty by 2020. Our determination to do so is as firm as ever and this is demonstrated by introducing the Child Poverty Bill. The Child Poverty Bill will bring new impetus to eradicating child poverty by 2020. It will provide a definition of success and sets a framework to guarantee that Government and its partners at national and local levels make a clear and vital contribution towards ending child poverty.
	Between 1998-9 and 2007-8 some 500,000 children were lifted out of relative poverty. Measures announced in and since Budget 2007 are expected to lift around a further 550,000 children out of poverty. Absolute poverty has been halved.
	Addressing pensioner poverty has been a priority for this Government. We have targeted help on the poorest pensioners, those who need it most, while providing a solid foundation of support for all.
	With the help of targeted support and additional funding there were 900,000 fewer pensioners living in relative poverty (after housing costs) in 2007-08 than in 1998-99.
	Estimates of poverty, published in the households below average income series, only allow a breakdown of the overall number of people in poverty at Government Office Region level. Therefore, information for Milton Keynes is not available, though figures relating to the South East Government Office Region are. These are given in the tables.
	Poverty for all individuals is presented both before and after housing costs. Child poverty is presented before housing costs and pensioner poverty is presented After housing costs, in line with the relevant Public Service Agreements. The most commonly used figures relate to those with incomes below 60 per cent. of contemporary median income for the three groups.
	Three-year averages are used to report regional statistics as single-year estimates are subject to volatility. Figures are quoted rounded to the nearest percentage point. The tables show the percentage of all individuals (Table 1), children (Table 2) and pensioners (Table 3) in the South East Government Office Region who have incomes below 60 per cent. of the contemporary median income.
	
		
			  Table 1: Proportion of individuals in households with incomes below 60 per cent of contemporary median for the South East, before and after housing costs 
			   Proportion of individuals (%) 
			   Before housing costs  After housing costs 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 13 19 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 13 19 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 13 18 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 12 18 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 12 18 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 12 17 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 12 17 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 13 18 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 13 19 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Proportion of children in households with incomes below 60 per cent of contemporary median for the South East, before housing costs 
			   Proportion of children  b efore housing costs (%) 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 16 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 15 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 15 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 14 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 13 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 13 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 13 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 15 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 15 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Proportion of pensioners in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of contemporary median for the South East, after housing costs 
			   Proportion of pensioners after housing costs (%) 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 26 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 24 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 24 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 23 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 22 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 19 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 16 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 16 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 16 
			  Notes: 1. These statistics are based on households below average income data. The households below average income series is available in the Library. 2. Small changes should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 3. The reference period for households below average income figures is single financial years. Three sample years have been combined as regional single year estimates are subject to volatility. 4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 5. The figures are based on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development equivalisation factors. 6. Figures have been presented on both a before housing cost and after housing cost basis. For before housing cost, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for after housing cost they are. 7. Proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. 
		
	
	A local child poverty indicator-including constituency level information-has been developed that captures the number and proportion of children in families in receipt of out of work benefits, or in receipt of tax credits where their reported income is less than 60 per cent. of median income. Details can be found via the HM Revenue and Customs website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/child_poverty.htm
	The measure enables local partners to make an assessment of the level and geographical distribution of income deprivation in their area and focuses local partners on taking action to help raise family incomes.

Remploy: Factories

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of Government procurement contracts were let to  (a) Remploy factories and  (b) other Government-assisted factories in each of the last three years.

Jonathan R Shaw: DWP does not centrally hold information on Government spend with Remploy or other assisted factories and to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost. However, DWP has spent £2.6 million with Remploy through procurement contracts since April 2008.

Social Security Benefits

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average processing time of applications for  (a) jobseeker's allowance,  (b) housing benefit,  (c) a crisis loan,  (d) a community care grant and  (e) a budgeting loan was in (i) each of the smallest geographical areas for which information is available and (ii) the UK in each quarter of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Goodman: Information regarding Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
	The available information has been placed in the Library.
	Jobcentre Plus has a formal target for the average actual clearance time (AACT) taken to process jobseeker's allowance claims. The two dates used to calculate this average are from the initial date of a customer's contact i.e. their call to a Jobcentre Plus contact centre to the date a decision is made on their claim and a letter of eligibility is issued to them.
	Jobseeker's allowance data for 2005-06 are recorded down to district level. From 2006-07 the data are recorded at benefit delivery centre level which is now the smallest geographical area that can be provided. Jobcentre Plus does not hold quarterly AACT figures.
	Housing benefit information has been provided from 2003-04 to 2007-08; the data quality for 2008-09 was not high enough for publication. The Department has been working with local authorities to improve data quality. This month we intend to publish processing time information for April to September 2009, for between 270 and 300 local authorities whose data meets Official Statistics standards.

Social Security Benefits: Disabled

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have claimed  (a) incapacity benefit and  (b) employment and support allowance in each quarter since April 2008.

Jonathan R Shaw: The available information is in the tables.
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants each quarter since May 2008-Great Britain and abroad 
			  Quarter  Claimants (thousand) 
			  2008  
			 May 2,637.56 
			 August 2,632.00 
			 November- 2,593.01 
			   
			  2009  
			 February 2,468.62 
			 May 2,374.21 
			 August 2,299.58 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest ten. 2. From 6 April 2001, no new claims to severe disablement allowance were accepted. In addition from 27 October 2008, no new claims to incapacity benefit were also accepted.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. 
		
	
	
		
			  Employment and support allowance caseload quarterly time series-Great Britain and abroad 
			  Quarter  Claimants (thousand) 
			  2008  
			 November 53.77 
			   
			  2009  
			 February 175.81 
			 May 288.27 
			 August 374.44 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest ten and displayed in thousands. 2. Employment and support allowance replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Social Security Benefits: Disabled

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged over 65 years with terminal cancer receive  (a) disability living allowance and  (b) attendance allowance under special rules.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information requested is as follows.
	
		
			  Number of attendance allowance and disability allowance special rules cases over 65 where the main disabling condition is malignant diseases at August 2009 
			   Number 
			 Attendance Allowance 200 
			 Disability Living Allowance 5,100 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rated to agree with Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study and rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and excludes people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 3. Where more than one disability is present only the main disabling condition is recorded. 
			  Caution: The preferred statistics on benefits are now derived from 100 per cent. data sources. However, the 5 per cent. sample data still provide some detail not yet available from the 100 per cent. data sources, in particular, more complete information on the disabling condition of Disability Living Allowance claimants. DWP recommends that, where the detail is only available on the 5 per cent. sample data, or disabling condition (DLA) is required, the proportions derived should be scaled up to the overall 100 per cent. total for the benefit.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample

Social Security Benefits: Disabled

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether existing claimants of disability living allowance aged under 65 years will be able to continue to receive disability living allowance or the equivalent cash level of support when they reach 65 under the proposals for disability benefits which form part of the Government's planned social care reforms.

Jonathan R Shaw: If any disability benefits for older people are reformed as part of the National Care Service, those receiving the affected benefits at the time of reform would continue to receive the same level of cash support. We will give more details about the National Care Service in due course.

Streatham

Keith Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Streatham constituency, the effects on that constituency of changes to her Department's policies since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: As the biggest delivery Department in the UK, DWP makes a difference to millions of people every day, helping them to lead safer, fairer and more rewarding lives that are free from poverty. The policies that we have introduced since 1997 have aimed to give people more choice and control over their lives. Through our welfare reform programme, we are committed to providing personalised support to everyone who needs it so they have the opportunity to get into and remain in work.
	 Support to find work
	Through Jobcentre Plus, we are promoting work as the best form of welfare for people of working age. Since 1997, the number of people unemployed in Streatham has decreased by 18 per cent. to 4,594, and the number unemployed for more than one year has decreased by 64 per cent. to 725. From May 1997 to May 2009 the number of lone parents claiming income support in Streatham has decreased by 37 per cent. to 2,540.
	Our New Deal programmes have helped lone parents, the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, disabled people, the over 50s and partners of unemployed people to move from benefit into work. Since their inception over 2.2 million people in the UK have found work with the support of the New Deal, and 6,070 have been helped in Streatham.
	 Support for children
	We introduced a target to halve child poverty by 2010-11, on the way to eradicating it by 2020. Poverty is measured using a headline indicator of the proportion of children in households with an income below 60 per cent. of contemporary household median income before housing costs. This is in line with international best practice.
	Statistics on the numbers of children living in poverty are not available at the constituency level, but the latest information for the Inner London area shows that the proportion of children in poverty has fallen from 39 per cent. to 27 per cent. since 1997(1).
	 Support for older people
	Since 1997 our strategy has been to target extra help at the poorest pensioners while providing a solid foundation of support for all.
	This year we will spend over £13 billion more on pensioners than if we had continued with the policies that were in place in 1997. Around half of that money will go to the poorest third of pensioners.
	In 1997 the poorest pensioners, who received income support, lived on £69 a week (£98 in today's prices). Today pension credit, which was introduced in 2003, means no pensioner needs to live on less than £130 a week, or £198.45 for couples. As of May 2009, 4,850 pensioners in Streatham are receiving pension credit.
	In 2007-08 there were 900,000 fewer pensioners living in relative poverty in the UK than in 1998-99 (measured as below 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income after housing costs). Statistics on the numbers of pensioners living in relative poverty are not available at constituency level, but the latest information for the Inner London area shows that the proportion of pensioners in poverty has fallen from 42 per cent. to 29 per cent. since 1997(2).
	Pensioners in the UK also benefit from a range of additional support such as the winter fuel payments which this winter is worth £250 for households aged between 60 to 79 and £400 for households aged 80 or over. These payments provide vital reassurance to older people that they can afford to turn up their heating during cold weather. Prior to winter 1997-98 less than £60 million was spent helping pensioners meet their fuel bills-this year we will be spending around £2.7 billion on winter fuel payments alone. In 2008-09, 12,410 people aged 60 and over benefited from winter fuel payments in Streatham.
	We have also taken steps to strengthen and protect the private pensions system to ensure people have confidence to save for their future through the establishment of the Pensions Protection Fund, the Financial Assistance Scheme and a more powerful and proactive pensions regulator.
	The protection system ensures that, unlike in 1997, people are not left without a pension even in the event that their employer becomes insolvent.
	In total 423 people in the London area are receiving compensation from the Pension Protection Fund (data not available at constituency level)(3).
	We have also taken forward a radical package of pension reforms in the Pensions Acts of 2007 and 2008 which will deliver a fairer and more generous state pension and extend the opportunity of workplace pension saving to millions, many for the first time.
	The state pension reforms begin to come into effect from 2010 and will mean around three-quarters of women reaching state pension age in 2010 are expected to qualify for a full basic state pension compared to half without reform.
	 Support for disabled people and carers
	Since 2001, we have significantly extended and improved civil rights for disabled people in areas such as employment, education, access to goods and services and transport. Disabled people in Streatham will have benefited from these improvements. The Welfare Reform Act 2009 contains powers to increase choice and control for disabled adults, including disabled parents, enabling them to choose how certain state support is used to meet their individual needs. Older and less well-off carers are receiving extra help through the provisions within the National Carers Strategy.
	(1) Based on three-year averages and changes are rounded to the nearest percentage point or 100,000 children between 1997-98 to 1999-2000 and 2005-06 to 2007-08.
	(2) Based on three-year averages and changes are rounded to the nearest percentage point or 100,000 pensioners between 1997-98 to 1999-2000 and 2005-06 to 2007-08.
	(3) Regional information about assistance payments received by members from the Financial Assistance Scheme could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Drugs

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to tackle poppy farming in Afghanistan.

Ivan Lewis: There have been dramatic falls in opium cultivation in Afghanistan in recent years-19 per cent. in 2008 and 22 per cent. in 2009. This year, despite a collapse in the price of wheat, the levels of opium cultivation is likely to be stable. Farmers have chosen not to go back to cultivating opium. They are responding to improvements in governance and security and to continuing concerns over food security.
	The Government are supporting the Helmand Counter Narcotic Plan led by Governor Mangal. The plan aims to reduce poppy cultivation and demonstrate governance in Helmand. It launched in 2008 with the distribution of free wheat seed to 32,000 farmers across the province. This year, the plan has distributed wheat seed to 37,500 farmers, saplings and vines to 1,400 farmers, and will distribute summer crops (such as alfa, okra and mung beans) to 27,000 farmers.

Afghanistan: Elections

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the conditions faced by female parliamentary candidates in Afghanistan in the forthcoming parliamentary elections in that country.

Ivan Lewis: Afghanistan is a young democracy, and elections are taking place in difficult circumstances. We recognise the particular challenges faced by female candidates. The UK funds a range of programmes in Afghanistan to encourage the Afghan Government to promote women's equal participation in governance and to build awareness of women's rights among civil society and policy makers. We continue to urge the Afghan Government to uphold the constitution, which demands equal treatment of men and women.

Afghanistan: Politics and Government

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with officials of the Government in Afghanistan on the presidential decree in February 2010 on Afghan electoral law regarding the requirement for a quota of female parliamentarians in the Afghan Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We are in regular contact with the Government of Afghanistan and have discussed the presidential decree at length. We understand that the changes to Afghan electoral law enacted by the decree do not affect the quota of parliamentary seats reserved for women, but the process for filling these seats if they are empty. Previously where there were fewer female candidates than there were seats reserved for women, the remaining seats were left empty. The decree allows these seats to be filled by men after an election, rather than remaining empty. We will continue to discuss this issue with the Government of Afghanistan.

Burma: Nuclear Power

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of Burma's  (a) nuclear capability and  (b) ability to produce uranium; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We are aware of recent media reporting suggesting that Burma is seeking to develop its nuclear capability. We take such issues very seriously, and remind all states to adhere to their obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and all relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Burma: Nuclear Power

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had discussions with his EU counterparts on the matter of possible nuclear co-operation between Burma and North Korea; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We are aware of recent media reports suggesting that North Korea and Burma are expanding their military relationship. We regularly raise concerns regarding North Korean nuclear proliferation in discussions with EU counterparts, as well as with states involved in the Six-Party Talks process. The UK continues to urge all countries, including Burma, to respect their obligations under United Nations Security Council resolutions 1718 and 1874.

China: Religious Freedom

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has discussed the case of Mr Gao Zhisheng with the Chinese Government; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised the case of Gao Zhisheng with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi during his recent visit to China. Yang denied that Gao had been tortured or his rights violated, but provided no further information on his case. Later, at a press conference, Yang said that Gao had been sentenced to prison on subversion charges. He gave no details of the charges against Gao, or the length of his sentence.
	We remain concerned about the case of Gao Zhisheng and the continuing uncertainty over his whereabouts. I released a statement on 3 February urging the Chinese Government to provide accurate information on Gao's situation to ease the concerns of his family and friends and to provide reassurance about his condition. The EU also issued a statement, expressing their concerns over Gao's disappearance on 9 February. We will continue to raise his case at every appropriate opportunity.

Departmental Buildings

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on office refurbishments in each of the last 10 years.

Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) on 25 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1200W.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spent £14,049,000 in 2007, £2,254,000 in 2008 and £7,061,411 in 2009 on refurbishments to offices in its buildings in the UK.
	Information relating to refurbishment of offices on the FCO's overseas estate is not held centrally, and on the UK estate prior to 2007 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was paid in reimbursable expenses to special advisers in his Department in each of the last five years.

Chris Bryant: For 2005-07, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 9 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1657W.
	Officials have reviewed these figures and have established that the answer was incorrect.
	Our current records show that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office paid the following amounts to special advisers in reimbursable expenses for the financial calendar years 2005 to 2010.
	
		
			  Amounts paid to special advisers 
			  Financial year  £ 
			 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 761.52 
			 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 467.81 
			 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 1,923.21 
			 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009 2,307.69 
			 1 April 2009 to March 2010 (to date) 1,388.24

India: Christianity

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implementation by the Government of India of the recommendations made in the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief of 26 January 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 22 March 2010
	The recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Beliefs report of 26 January 2009 have been used as a point of reference for India's compliance with international conventions during the most recent EU-India Human Rights Dialogue in February 2009, when the issue of freedom of religion or belief in relation to minority rights was discussed with Indian officials. We will continue to raise the issue of minority rights, including the right to freedom of religion and belief with the appropriate Indian authorities as part of the ongoing EU-India Human Rights Dialogue.

India: Christianity

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the steps taken by the Government of Orissa state  (a) to address the causes of the communal violence in 2008 and  (b) to bring the perpetrators and inciters of such violence to justice.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 22 March 2010
	The communal violence in 2008 was caused by a range of complex socio-economic issues. The Orissa State Government has taken a number of steps to prevent further communal violence. A draft Prevention of Communal Violence Bill to provide for the prevention and control of communal violence, the speedy investigation and trial of cases and rehabilitation of victims has been introduced to the Upper House. The State Government commissioned a judicial probe led by Justice Mohapatra to look into the causes of violence. They have also taken steps to improve the security and delivery of justice to victims and the local authorities have set up fast track courts for the cases brought against the perpetrators of the violence.

India: Christianity

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the outcome of the visit to Orissa state of a delegation of the EU delegation to India; and whether  (a) the Government and  (b) the EU plans any follow-up action to assist in community reconciliation.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 22 March 2010
	The EU delegation visited Orissa from 2-5 February and met Government and police officials, civil society and victims in Bhubaneswar and Kandhamal. They noted that local authorities have made some progress on rehabilitation and resettlement, and continue to work to address displacement and justice issues. The EU delegation also identified cross-community peace-building initiatives and improving the capacity of victims lawyers as important areas to address.
	The EU delegation investigated what action was being taken towards community reconciliation in their discussions with the Government authorities and civil society. They were informed of a range of activities such as street theatre, music, vocational, and educational initiatives focusing on building lasting peace between the communities. Peace and national integration camps have also been set up and a peace initiative called 'Antaranga' involving more than 150 youth organisations from all the local communities has also been established with the support of non-governmental organisations. The delegation are assessing the outcomes of their visit, including the question of follow-up.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he  (a) has taken during the last six months and  (b) plans to take during the next six months to tackle the shipment of weapons and funds from Iran to (i) Afghanistan, (ii) Iraq, (iii) Lebanon and (iv) Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We have serious concerns about Iranian support for Iraqi militia groups, the Taliban. Hezbollah, Hamas and other Palestinian rejectionist groups, including weapons, funds and training. This is unacceptable. It further undermines international confidence in the Iranian regime's intentions, and is at odds with the regime's claim to the international community and its own people that it supports stability in the middle east and Afghanistan.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps at the United Nations he  (a) has taken since November 2009 and  (b) plans to take in the next six months to seek to prevent (i) weapons and (ii) funds from the government of Iran being sent to terrorist groups in (A) Afghanistan, (B) Iraq, (C) Gaza and (d) Lebanon; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We continue to urge Iran to comply with international law, including UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs). Iran's transfers of weapons to the groups mentioned are contrary to UNSCRs 1737, 1747,1803, 1701 (Hezbollah) and 1860 (Gaza). Such behaviour further undermines international confidence in Iran.
	We continue to give our full support to the UN Sanctions Committee in pursuing and investigating sanctions violations. Following a series of sanctions violations by Iran in 2009 (including the interdictions of weapons from Iran on the Hansa India, Monchegorsk and Francop vessels), the UN Sanctions Committee on Iran issued an Implementation Assistance Notice in January 2010. This urged all UN member states to be especially alert to further violations, in particular to exercise enhanced vigilance over all Islamic Republic of Iran shipping lines activity, including subjecting its cargo to enhanced scrutiny.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps at the United Nations he  (a) has taken since November 2009 and  (b) plans to take in the next six months in response allegations of (i) arming and (ii) funding by Iran of Hamas; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We have serious concerns about the support that Iran provides to groups such as Hamas, which are undermining peace in the middle east through violence. Such support is unacceptable and only serves to undermine regional security. We call on Iran to play a constructive role in fostering peace in the middle east, including through political and diplomatic support to the Palestinian Authority in its attempts to build institutions and improve security.
	We continue to push for the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1860 which aims to prevent the illicit trafficking of arms into Gaza.

Sri Lanka

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 12 November 2009,  Official Report, column 625W, on ministerial policy advisers, how many times the Special Envoy for Sri Lanka has visited that country since his appointment.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Des Browne) visited Sri Lanka in May 2009 as part of a cross-party delegation of Members of Parliament.

Tibet: Politics and Government

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to endorse the practical measures suggested by the Tibetan envoys at the China-Tibet talks in January 2010 and to encourage the Chinese authorities to respond positively to them.

Ivan Lewis: We welcome the fact that talks between the Chinese Government and representatives of the Dalai Lama have taken place.
	It would be inappropriate for the UK to endorse positions taken by either side in negotiation.
	We believe that progress depends on both sides continuing to engage in dialogue in good faith. This is the only way to bring about a lasting and peaceful solution to the problems in Tibet.

Tibet: Politics and Government

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he raised the issue of Tibet  (a) privately and  (b) publicly during his recent visit to China; and if he will make a statement.  [Official Report, 25 May 2010, Vol. 510, c. 1MC.]

Ivan Lewis: During my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's visit to China he raised the issue of Tibet with Premier Wen and Foreign Minister Yang. He expressed our continued concern at the situation in Tibet, including the heavy security presence, and restrictions on freedom of expression and religion. He welcomed the resumption of the talks between the Chinese authorities and representatives of the Dalai Lama but emphasised that the talks must be substantive to be successful.
	Following his visit, the UK and China held a human rights dialogue. This was a further opportunity for us to raise our concerns about Tibet. In advance of the dialogue we have handed over a list of 42 cases, of concern, a number of which relate to Tibet, affecting 56 individuals.

Tibet: Politics and Government

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the decision by the Chinese authorities to resettle Tibet's 2.25 million nomads into urban areas; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: In his work report of the Chinese Government to the National People's Congress, Premier Wen Jiabao said that the Chinese Government would build permanent housing for nomads. He also promised to give high priority to protecting the cultural heritage of ethnic minorities and the ecosystems in ethnic minority areas.
	Staff at our embassy in Beijing have discussed the Government's policy of encouraging nomads to move to fixed settlements with local government representatives in Tibet, who justify it by the need to improve access to public services such as health and education and in order to protect fragile high-altitude grasslands from overgrazing.
	Without free media coverage and transparent democratic governance there it is impossible for the Tibetan community to express its views on this policy.
	We encourage the Chinese Government at every opportunity to promote the cultural rights of Tibetans and freedom of expression in Tibet.

Togo: Politics and Government

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the political situation in Togo following the recent elections in that country.

Ivan Lewis: The elections in 2010 mark a significant improvement from those of 2005. Although minor irregularities were recorded, they were not deemed significant enough to have changed the overall result and EU election monitors thought the elections to be broadly fair and democratic.
	However, the opposition have rejected the result and organised demonstrations in protest. We, with our EU partners, continue to urge both sides to exercise restraint and pursue objections through legal means.

Zimbabwe: Human Rights

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of progress by the Unity Government of Zimbabwe on human rights; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Human rights abuses continue in Zimbabwe, with a recent worrying increase in the harassment of civil society.
	In December 2009, the signatories of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) agreed on the composition of a new Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC). Members of the ZHRC have yet to be sworn in but its ability to operate freely will have a key impact on monitoring and tackling human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
	We, with our partners, will continue to monitor the human rights situation closely and support efforts to prevent abuses and institute international human rights standards.

CABINET OFFICE

Capacitybuilders

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what declaration of political activity each member of the Capacitybuilders Campaigning Research Programme Fund selection panel has made.

Angela Smith: No declaration of political activity was made by the panellists.

Capacitybuilders

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what projects have been shortlisted for funding under the Capacitybuilders Campaigning Research Programme Fund; and what the purpose is of each of those projects.

Angela Smith: Funding for the Campaigning Research Programme has been transferred to the Hardship Fund to support frontline recession-related services. This programme no longer exists and therefore there are no projects shortlisted for funding.

Census

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2010,  Official Report, column 795, on the 2011 Census, what the most recent estimate is of the  (a) absolute response rate in terms of number of respondents and  (b) percentage response rate in each of the pilot local authority areas for the 2011 Census rehearsals; in which (i) wards and (ii) postcode areas rehearsals were held in each of the pilot areas; and what criteria were used to select the sub-areas.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2010, Official Report, column 795, on the 2011 Census, what the most recent estimate is of the (a) absolute response rate in terms of number of respondents and (b) percentage response rate in each of the pilot local authority areas for the 2011 Census rehearsals; in which (i) wards and (ii) postcode areas rehearsals were held in each of the pilot areas; and what the criteria were by which the sub-areas were selected. (318330)
	The rehearsal was unlike the Census in that it was voluntary and publicity was necessarily limited. It included 133,890 addresses (61,725 in Lancaster, 38,618 in Newham and 33,547 in Anglesey); 49,300 returns were received.
	In order to rehearse our procedures appropriately, 51% of addresses were pre-selected to be subject to the full follow-up process; the remainder were not followed up if they did not respond. In the Census itself, it is the intention that all non responding households will be followed up.
	(a) Measuring return rates from those 68,000 households subject to the full process, we had 27,500 returns (41%).
	(b) The percentage return rate in each of the rehearsal local authority areas is:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 Lancaster 48 
			 Newham 28 
			 Anglesey 49 
		
	
	(i) and (ii) All wards in Lancaster and Anglesey were included in the rehearsal.
	Areas in Newham were selected by lower super output areas, a statistical geography, which do not always align with ward boundaries. All or part of the wards and postcode sectors shown at Annex A were part of the Newham rehearsal.
	The particular criteria for choosing sub-areas in Newham were that they should contain around 40,000 households, a number of communal establishments and a traveller site; that they should have high concentrations of multiple occupancy and students; that they should be contiguous. The areas were chosen in order to reflect some of the particular challenges representative of hard to enumerate areas.
	 Annex A
	 (i) Wards in which the rehearsal was held
	All wards in Lancaster and Anglesey and the following in Newham:
	
		
			  Ward reference  Ward name  LA name  Level of ward inclusion 
			 OOBBGU Stratford and New Town Newham Whole 
			 OOBBGG East Ham Central Newham Partial 
			 OOBBGK Forest Gate North Newham Partial 
			 OOBBGD Canning Town North Newham Partial 
			 OOBBGF Custom House Newham Partial 
			 OOBBGE Canning Town South Newham Partial 
			 OOBBGS Plaistow South Newham Partial 
			 OOBBGB Beckton Newham Partial 
			 OOBBGJ East Ham South Newham Partial 
			 OOBBGX West Ham Newham Partial 
			 OOBBGT Royal Docks Newham Partial 
			 OOBBGL Forest Gate South Newham Partial 
			 OOBBGH East Ham North Newham Partial 
			 OOBBGC Boleyn Newham Partial 
			 OOBBGW Wall End Newham Partial 
		
	
	 (ii) Postcode areas
	 Newham
	E1
	E12
	E13
	E15
	E16
	E3
	E6
	E7
	 Lancaster
	CH3
	LA1
	LA2
	LA3
	LA4
	LA5
	LA6
	LA7
	PR3
	 Anglesey
	LL00
	LL58
	LL59
	LL60
	LL61
	LL62
	LL63
	LL64
	LL65
	LL66
	LL67
	LL68
	LL69
	LL70
	LL71
	LL72
	LL73
	LL74
	LL75
	LL76
	LL77
	LL78

Census

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2009,  Official Report, columns 953-6W, on the Census, 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the cost of printing the Census forms; how many Census forms of each type will be printed; and what estimate has been made of average cost of printing a form of each type;
	(2)  what estimate has been made of the cost of storing the Census forms;
	(3)  for what reasons the forms for the Census are being printed in March 2010;
	(4)  how many Census forms of each type will be printed in March 2010.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking:
	pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2009, Official Report, columns 953-6W, on the Census, what estimate she has made of the cost of printing the Census forms; how many Census forms of each type will be printed; and what estimate has been made of average cost of printing a form of each type. (322892)
	pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2009, Official Report, columns 953-6W, on the Census, what estimate has been made of the cost of storing the Census forms. (322893)
	pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2009, Official Report, column 953W, on the Census, for what reasons the forms for the Census are being printed in March 2010. (322894)
	pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2009, Official Report, columns 953-6W, on the Census, how many Census forms of each type will be printed in March 2010. (322908)
	The contract for census processing was awarded to Lockheed Martin UK in August 2008. This is the largest of the census contracts with a value of around f 150m.
	It is estimated that the cost for the printing of the 2011 Census questionnaires is in the region of £20 million; which would equate to an average cost of around £0.53 per questionnaire.
	Lockheed Martin UK acts as the prime contractor with several sub contractors undertaking aspects of the work.
	There are a number of types of census questionnaires. England, Wales and Northern Ireland each have a different question set, and in Wales everything needs to be printed twice, once in English and once in Welsh.
	Due to the differences in questions and language used across these areas, there will be 17 separate types of questionnaires printed in total. These can be broadly grouped into four categories, and will be printed in the corresponding quantities:
	Household questionnaires: around 34 million
	Individual questionnaires: around 3 million
	Communal Establishment questionnaires: around 144,000
	Census Coverage Survey questionnaires: around 600,000
	ONS docs not have the costs of printing each specific form type.
	Storage costs are factored into the fixed price service contract so it is not possible to extract specific costs for the storage of any questionnaires printed in the period up to census day.
	In addition to the questionnaires there are information guides, translations of the questions into various languages, leaflets, envelopes and other necessary material to accompany the questionnaires; as well as the various administrative forms used by census staff to undertake the census. This amounts to around 50 separate types of document to be printed; and is estimated to total approximately 107 million items, on top of the roughly 1 billion pages of questionnaires.
	Initial printing of the questionnaires is running from March 2010 to July 2010; once this is complete a second process of overprinting will begin in July 2010, during which individual barcodes, unique identifiers and internet access codes will be printed onto each questionnaire.
	For this process to be a success the scanning and processing software needs to be developed and rigorously tested. This is a large and involved project and must start in April 2010 for the systems to be ready in time for census day on 27 March 2011.
	In addition to being needed for the printing timetable, a finalised print-tested questionnaire is needed for the programming of the scanning and printing software and for creating test data for the various stages of testing necessary to ensure that the final processes meet the high standard demanded by the census.

Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate she has made of the cash savings arising from changes to redundancy payments under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme in each of the next three years.

Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to my written statement of 3 February 2010,  Official Report, columns 11-13WS. Savings on redundancy payments in each of the next three years will depend on the number of redundancies that occur in those years.

Deaths: Arthritis

David Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths of  (a) males and  (b) females aged (i) 10 to 16, (ii) 17 to 24, (iii) 25 to 30, (iv) 31 to 35, (v) 36 to 40 and (vi) over 40 years in each local authority area were attributed to rheumatoid arthritis in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, 1 have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths of (a) males and (b) females aged (i) 10 to 16, (ii) 17 to 24, (iii) 25 to 30, (iv) 31 to 35, (v) 36 to 40 and (vi) over 40 years in each local authority area were attributed to rheumatoid arthritis in each year since 1997. (323127)
	The tables provide the number of deaths where rheumatoid arthritis was the underlying cause of death for (a) males and (b) females aged (i) 10 to 16, (ii) 17 to 24, (iii) 25 to 30, (iv) 31 to 35, (v) 36 to 40 and (vi) 41 years and over, in England and Wales (Table 1); and where rheumatoid arthritis was the underlying cause of death for each local authority (Table 2), for the years 1997 to 2008 (the latest year available). A copy of the latter table has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	The number of deaths with an underlying cause of rheumatoid arthritis in each local authority, broken down by sex and age group, is extremely small. Consequently this level of detail has not been provided, in line with ONS policy on protecting confidentiality within birth and death statistics(1).
	(1 )The ONS policy on protecting confidentiality within birth and death statistics is available on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_health/ConfidentialityBirthDeath.pdf
	
		
			  Table 1. Number of deaths where rheumatoid arthritis was the underlying cause of death( 1) , by sex and age group, in England and Wales( 2) ,1997-2008( 3) 
			  Deaths (persons aged 10 and over) 
			  Sex  Age  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  200S  2006  2007  2008 
			 Males 10-16 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  17-24 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  25-30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			  31-35 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  36-40 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  41 and over 169 141 136 149 240 208 203 195 176 176 181 181 
			   
			 Females 10-16 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			  17-24 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			  25-30 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			  31-35 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			  36-40 0 1 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 
			  41 and over 628 632 558 523 733 749 703 603 656 565 552 569 
			 (1) Cause of death for rheumatoid arthritis was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 714.0-714.9 and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes M05.0-M06.9, M08.0, M08.2, M08.3 and M08.9. The introduction of ICD-10 in 2001 means that the numbers of deaths from this cause before 2001 are not completely comparable with later years. (2) Deaths in England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Deaths: Diabetes

David Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths  (a) in Southend,  (b) in Essex and  (c) nationally were attributed to diabetes in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths (a) in Southend, (b) in Essex and (c) nationally were attributed to diabetes in each of the last five years. (323115)
	The table attached provides the number of deaths where diabetes was the underlying cause of death in (a) Southend-on-Sea unitary authority, (b) Essex county and (c) England and Wales, for the years 2004 to 2008 (the latest year available).
	Figures for Essex county do not include deaths in Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock unitary authorities, which were part of the former County of Essex.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of deaths where diabetes was the underlying cause of death, Southend-on-Sea unitary authority, Essex county, and England and Wales, 2004-08( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3,)( )( 4) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			  Area  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Southend-on-Sea 24 17 17 14 22 
			 Essex 131 138 143 127 151 
			 England and Wales 5,846 5,652 5,491 5,426 5,536 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes E10-E14 (Diabetes mellitus). (2) Based on boundaries as of 2010. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Departmental Computer Software

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 24 February 2010,  Official Report, column 604W, on departmental computer software, whether the Cabinet Office's IT department permits or facilitates the installation of  (a) Firefox,  (b) Chrome and  (c) Opera on departmental computers for the use of civil servants in her Department and in 10 Downing Street; and what version of Internet Explorer is installed on the computers in 10 Downing Street.

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the ministerial correction of 1 March 2010,  Official Report, column 12MC, on departmental computer software, whether  (a) Firefox and  (b) Opera website browsers are permitted to be installed on her Department's computers.

Angela Smith: On specific computers the Cabinet Office allows the use of various browsers where there is a requirement for their use.
	Cabinet Office's corporate IT services include internet explorer as a standard feature. Versions are updated to ensure that we have supported software and achieve value for money.

Emigration

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what methodology the Office for National Statistics uses to estimate the number of people who permanently leave the UK.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question regarding what methodology the Office for National Statistics uses to estimate the number of people who permanently leave the UK. (322888)
	The Office for National Statistics estimates long-term international emigration based mainly on data from the International Passenger Survey (IPS). Other data sources are used to make adjustments for asylum seekers and their dependants not counted by the IPS, people who change their intentions and, therefore, their migratory status and people who emigrate from Northern Ireland.
	The methodology is described in detail at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/Methodology-to-estimate-LTIM.pdf
	These estimates relate to those who intend to leave the UK for at least a year, including those who leave permanently. They are based on people's intentions at the time they leave the UK. Within this we are able to identify the number of people who say they intend to leave for longer than four years, but not those who intend to leave permanently.
	The cross-government Migration Statistics Improvement Programme is improving the sources and methods used to produce the international migration estimates. Following extensive research and a large scale engagement programme with users, it has delivered improvements in the accuracy of migration statistics from the International Passenger Survey.

Employment

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Horsham of 25 February 2010,  Official Report, column 699W, on employment, how many  (a) public and  (b) private sector employees there were in each constituency in the (i) equivalent period in 1996-97 and (ii) latest period for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) public and (b) private sector employees there were in each constituency in the (i) equivalent period in 1996-97 and (ii) latest period for which figures are available. (322883)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and its predecessor the Annual Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	Individuals are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the APS. Consequently, the classification of an individual's sector may differ from how they would be classified in the National Accounts.
	Estimates on the number of people in employment in the public and private sector are not available for the 1996-97 period from the Annual LFS. Estimates of employment for the latest available period have been provided as part of the answer in the Official Report, column 699W.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Government Departments: ICT

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many  (a) individuals and  (b) organisations have responded to the consultation on the UK Government ICT Strategy.

Angela Smith: 17 individuals have responded to the UK Government ICT Strategy on the website Write to Reply. Government have also received comments from a range of other organisations including suppliers, trade associations and other interested parties.
	These are responses directly to the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and do not include responses that individual Government Departments or public bodies may have received.

Government Departments: Publications

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will place in the Library a copy of the guidance issued by the National Statistician to Government Departments on the publication of statistics during the 2010 general election campaign.

Tessa Jowell: On the announcement of a general election, the Cabinet Office issues guidance on the handling of departmental business during the pre-election period, including guidance on statistical activities agreed with the National Statistician. The 2005 general election guidance is in the Libraries of both Houses, and can be found on the Cabinet Office website:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/cabinetoffice/propriety_and_ethics/assets/electguide.pdf

Insolvency

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many businesses in each industry region in each sector went into  (a) compulsory liquidation,  (b) creditors' voluntary liquidation,  (c) administration and  (d) receivership in each year from 2004 to 2009.

Ian Lucas: I have been asked to reply.
	Official statistics for corporate insolvencies by region are not currently available.
	The following tables show figures for 2008 and 2009 for compulsory liquidations, creditors' voluntary liquidations (CVLs), receiverships and administrations broken down by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2003 sectors, for England and Wales.
	Earlier, complete years' figures broken down by industry are not available on the same basis, but are available for part of the period requested broken down according to the Insolvency Trade Classification (ITC) on the Insolvency Service's website:
	www.insolvency.gov.uk/statistics
	Whole year figures are not available for 2006 or 2007 because of the transition between ITC and SIC2003.
	
		
			  Table 1: Compulsory liquidations by industry( 1, 3) 
			  Section   2008  2009( 4) 
			 Section A Agriculture, hunting and forestry 31 26 
			 Section B Fishing 8 3 
			 Section C Mining and quarrying 12 3 
			 Section D Manufacturing 289 249 
			 Section E Electricity, gas and water supply 43 39 
			 Section F Construction 1,059 1,017 
			 Section G Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motor cycles and personal and household goods 726 574 
			 Section H Hotels and restaurants 361 245 
			 Section I Transport, storage and communication 379 254 
			 Section J Financial intermediation 130 143 
			 Section K Real estate, renting and business activities 639 473 
			 Section L Public administration and defence; compulsory social security 13 13 
			 Section M Education 46 41 
			 Section N Health and social work 50 45 
			 Section O Other community, social and personal service activities 409 291 
			 Section P Private households employing staff and undifferentiated production activities of households for own use 3 3 
			 Section Q Extra-territorial organisations and bodies 7 5 
			 All others(2)  1,633 1,053 
			 Total  5,838 4,477 
			 (1) The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 2003) definitions can be found at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/methods_quality/sic/downloads/UK_SIC_Vol1(2003).pdf (2) Unknown SIC. (3) Totals for compulsory liquidations here are not the same as the headline figures. This is because the industrial breakdown has been compiled from a specially selected extract from the live database, whereas the headline figures are produced monthly using a different reporting system. (4) Figures for compulsory liquidations by industry are supplied a quarter in arrears. Hence the figure for 2009 only includes data for January-September 2009. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Creditors' liquidations by industry( 1, 3) 
			  Section   2008  2009 
			 Section A Agriculture, hunting and forestry 34 43 
			 Section B Fishing 1 1 
			 Section C Mining and quarrying 10 11 
			 Section D Manufacturing 1,174 1,702 
			 Section E Electricity, gas and water supply 8 11 
			 Section F Construction 1,643 2,384 
			 Section G Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motor cycles and personal and household goods 1,714 2,096 
			 Section H Hotels and restaurants 611 783 
			 Section I Transport, storage and communication 472 556 
			 Section J Financial intermediation 143 176 
			 Section K Real estate, renting and business activities 2,757 3,976 
			 Section L Public administration and defence; compulsory social security 12 17 
			 Section M Education 56 71 
			 Section N Health and social work 74 89 
			 Section O Other community, social and personal service activities 538 725 
			 Section P Private households employing staff and undifferentiated production activities of households for own use 6 13 
			 Section Q Extra-territorial organisations and bodies 3 1 
			 All others(2)  785 779 
			 Total  10,041 13,434 
			 (1) The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 2003) definitions can be found at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/methods_quality/sic/downloads/UK_SIC_Vol1(2003).pdf (2) Including unknown or invalid SIC codes and non-trading or dormant companies. (3) Where the Creditors Voluntary Liquidation is the first insolvency procedure entered into (see Notes to Editors paragraph 8). 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Receiverships by industry( 1) 
			  Section   2008  2009 
			 Section A Agriculture, hunting and forestry 2 2 
			 Section B Fishing 0 0 
			 Section C Mining and quarrying 0 1 
			 Section D Manufacturing 33 36 
			 Section E Electricity, gas and water supply 2 0 
			 Section F Construction 115 245 
			 Section G Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motor cycles and personal and household goods 44 65 
			 Section H Hotels and restaurants 20 47 
			 Section I Transport, storage and communication 6 12 
			 Section J Financial intermediation 17 16 
			 Section K Real estate, renting and business activities 531 880 
			 Section L Public administration and defence; compulsory social security 0 0 
			 Section M Education 1 3 
			 Section N Health and social work 2 9 
			 Section O Other community, social and personal service activities 37 38 
			 Section P Private households employing staff and undifferentiated production activities of households for own use 0 0 
			 Section Q Extra-territorial organisations and bodies 0 0 
			 All others(2)  57 114 
			 Total  867 1,468 
			 (1) The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 2003) definitions can be found at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/methods_quality/sic/downloads/UK_SIC_Vol1(2003).pdf (2) Including unknown or invalid SIC codes and non-trading or dormant companies. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Administrations by industry( 1) 
			  Section   2008( 3)  2009 
			 Section A Agriculture, hunting and forestry 18 10 
			 Section B Fishing 3 3 
			 Section C Mining and quarrying 4 10 
			 Section D Manufacturing 693 761 
			 Section E Electricity, gas and water supply 3 1 
			 Section F Construction 468 427 
			 Section G Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motor cycles and personal and household goods 621 492 
			 Section H Hotels and restaurants 192 240 
			 Section I Transport, storage and communication 195 175 
			 Section J Financial intermediation 81 61 
			 Section K Real estate, renting and business activities 2,008 1,330 
			 Section L Public administration and defence; compulsory social security 5 3 
			 Section M Education 27 16 
			 Section N Health and social work 45 54 
			 Section O Other community, social and personal service activities 172 225 
			 Section P Private households employing staff and undifferentiated production activities of households for own use 1 1 
			 Section Q Extra-territorial organisations and bodies 0 0 
			 All others(2)  284 237 
			 Total  4,820 4,161 
			 (1) The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 2003) definitions can be found at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/methods_quality/sic/downloads/UK_SIC_Vol1(2003).pdf (2) Including unknown or invalid SIC codes and non-trading or dormant companies. (3) The figure for Q4 2008 includes 729 separate managed service companies for which BDO Stoy Hayward was appointed administrator. The administrations were approved in September 2008, but the statistics are counted based on the date registered at Companies House (which fell in October 2008, i.e. Q4).

Older People

David Drew: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people and what proportion of the total population in each local authority area are projected to be over 65 years old in  (a) 2015,  (b) 2020,  (c) 2025,  (d) 2030 and  (e) 2050.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people and what proportion of the total population in each local authority area are projected to be over 65 years old in (a) 2015, (b) 2020, (c) 2025, (d) 2030 and (e) 2050.
	The table shows the projected population aged over 65 years in each local authority in 2015, 2020, 2025 and 2030. These are 2006-based Subnational Population Projections which were published by the Office for National Statistics on 12 June 2008. The Office for National Statistics has not published population projections at local authority area for 2050.
	A copy of the table has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	The subnational population projections are demographic trend-based projections that indicate what the population of an area is likely to be if recently observed trends in fertility, mortality and migration were to continue. They take no account of future policies or developments which may affect trends.
	The 2008-based Subnational Population Projections are due to be published on 27 May 2010.

Pay

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average rate of change was in  (a) private and  (b) public sector pay, including bonuses, in the last 36 months.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from St ephen Penneck, dated March 2010 :
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the average rate of change was in  (a) private and  (b) public sector pay growth including bonuses in the last 36 months (322889).
	Estimates of rates of change in pay growth are produced from the Office for National Statistics' average weekly earnings indicators. The average annual rate of change of pay including bonuses over the last 36 months, covering the period from February 2007 through January 2010, was:
	 (a) Private Sector: 2.5 per cent
	 (b) Public Sector: 3.4 per cent
	The estimates have been seasonally adjusted. Please note that the January 2010 estimate is provisional and may be subject to revision.

Productivity

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the mean change was in  (a) public and  (b) private sector productivity in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what the mean change was in (a) public sector and (b) private sector productivity in each year since 1997 (322913).
	Public sector productivity growth rates are available from the ONS Public Service Productivity articles at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk
	These are experimental statistics. They include all services funded by the public sector whether or not they are produced by the public sector. Hence the concept of output is gross output, not value added. Public sector productivity growth estimates are produced on a multi-factor basis; the concept of input includes intermediate consumption, capital and labour. Table 1 contains the latest statistics available for public sector productivity.
	Productivity estimates are not available for the private sector but experimental statistics are produced for the Market Sector and are available from the ONS quarterly release on Productivity. The market sector includes almost all market activity and excludes most non-market activity, in particular that of general government. The measurement includes public corporations. Market Sector estimates are produced on an output per worker basis from 1991 onwards and an output per hour basis from 1999 onwards basis. Table 2 contains the latest statistics available for market sector productivity.
	
		
			  Table 1: Total public service output, input and productivity estimate, 1997 to 2007 United Kingdom, perc entage  change from 1997 
			  Period  Volume of output  Volume of input  Productivity 
			 1997 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 1998 1.6 1.4 0.2 
			 1999 3.7 4.1 -0.4 
			 2000 7.4 8.9 -1.4 
			 2001 10.8 12.0 -1.1 
			 2002 15.8 18.7 -2.4 
			 2003 20.7 25.5 -3.8 
			 2004 25.1 30.5 -4.1 
			 2005 28.5 34.6 -4.5 
			 2006 31.9 37.0 -3.7 
			 2007 33.6 38.0 -3.2 
			 Mean 2.9 3.3 -0.3 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Market sector productivity quarter on same quarter a year ago growth experimental , United Kingdom 
			  Period  Output per worker  Output per h our 
			 1997 Q1 1.5 - 
			 1997 Q2 1.2 - 
			 1997 Q3 1.5 - 
			 1997 Q4 2.6 - 
			
			 1998 Q1 3.1 - 
			 1998 Q2 3.8 - 
			 1998 Q3 3.6 - 
			 1998 Q4 3.0 - 
			
			 1999 Q1 2.4 - 
			 1999 Q2 2.5 - 
			 1999 Q3 2.9 - 
			 1999 Q4 3.0 - 
			
			 2000 Q1 3.6 - 
			 2000 Q2 3.7 4.4 
			 2000 Q3 3.0 4.0 
			 2000 Q4 2.7 3.0 
			
			 2001 Q1 2.6 1.7 
			 2001 Q2 1.5 1.0 
			 2001 Q3 1.7 1.2 
			 2001 Q4 1.0 2.1 
			
			 2002 Q1 0.9 1.7 
			 2002 Q2 0.9 3.0 
			 2002 Q3 1.3 2.3 
			 2002 Q4 1.6 2.5 
			
			 2003 Q1 1.3 2.4 
			 2003 Q2 2.1 2.0 
			 2003 Q3 2.0 2.8 
			 2003 Q4 3.1 3.9 
			
			 2004 Q1 3.1 3.4 
			 2004 Q2 3.4 4.0 
			 2004 Q3 2.6 3.2 
			 2004 Q4 2.0 1.0 
			
			 2005 Q1 1.4 0.7 
			 2005 Q2 1.4 1.7 
			 2005 Q3 1.6 1.2 
			 2005 Q4 2.2 2.3 
			
			 2006 Q1 2.8 3.2 
			 2006 Q2 2.0 1.8 
			 2006 Q3 2.0 2.5 
			 2006 Q4 1.7 2.2 
			
			 2007 Q1 2.5 2.3 
			 2007 Q2 2.5 1.9 
			 2007 Q3 2.7 2.5 
			 2007 Q4 1.7 2.6 
			
			 2008 Q1 1.0 0.7 
			 2008 Q2 0.4 1.7 
			 2008 Q3 -0.5 -0.3 
			 2008 Q4 -2.5 -2.2 
			
			 2009 Q1 -5.6 -3.0 
			 2009 Q2 -5.1 -4.5 
			 2009 Q3 -4.6 -3.2

UK Statistics Authority: Finance

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 23 February 2010, Offic ial Report, column 16WS, on the UK Statistics Authority (DEL), what the new priorities and in-year pressures were for the UK Statistics Authority that required the £6 million take-up of departmental unallocated provision.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated March 2010:
	As Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I have been asked to respond to your question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the new priorities and in-year pressures were for the UK Statistical Authority that required the £6 million take up of the departmental unallocated provision. (322879)
	In 2006/07 the Office for National Statistics announced that staff numbers in London would reduce to about 90 by the end of 2009/10, and a provision has been made for early retirement of those staff allowing for those who leave by other means, such as transfer, relocation or resignation.
	As part of the decision to relocate all remaining London staff to Myddelton Street, Drummond Gate was vacated in June 2008. The property is being actively marketed and discussions are taking place with a number of potential tenants, and so far three tenants have signed leases for three out of six floors. We have also made provisions in respect of this property.
	The £6 million pounds is required to fund the cash to meet the 2009-10 element of property provisions.

UK Youth Parliament

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will bring forward proposals to include UK Youth Parliament members in decision-making in Government.

Dawn Butler: The Government's ambition is to ensure that young people have more opportunities to engage with the issues they are passionate about, because we firmly believe they should be empowered as citizens, connected to the political process and offered a meaningful say in the decisions that affect them. The Government have already made substantial steps towards this goal. In line with recommendation 12 of the Youth Citizenship Commission's report published June 2009, the Government have established a series of youth panels across Government which help to provide advice to Ministers on specific issues.

Unemployment: Rural Areas

James Paice: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the rate of  (a) unemployment and  (b) youth unemployment was in rural areas in (i) England and (ii) Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the level of (a) unemployment and (b) youth unemployment was in rural areas in (i) England and (ii) Wales in each of the last 10 years. (323315)
	The available information is provided in the attached table. The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). A breakdown between rural and urban areas is not available from the LFS prior to 2005.
	As with any sample survey, the estimates provided are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Number of people unemployed in rural( 1)  areas by country: Three month period ending December, 2005 to 2009, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousand 
			   All aged 16 and over  All aged 16 to 24 
			   England  Wales  England  Wales 
			 2005 173 25 79 9 
			 2006 173 20 65 7 
			 2007 163 19 69 8 
			 2008 201 27 80 15 
			 2009(2) **261 ***38 ***86 ****15 
			 (1) For England and Wales rural areas comprise villages, hamlets and isolated dwellings. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below.  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV-for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220  KeyCoefficient of Variation (CV) (%)Statistical Robustness *0 = CV5  Estimates are considered precise **  5 = CV 10   Estimates are considered reasonably precise ***10 = CV 20 Estimates are considered acceptable ****  CV ? 20Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes  Source: Labour Force Survey 
		
	
	It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels mobile home sites etc.)

HEALTH

Arthritis

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people  (a) living with and  (b) diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The Department has not made a specific estimate of the number of people living with and diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
	However, there are various estimates of the number of people living with rheumatoid arthritis and those diagnosed with the disease. These estimates suggest that the number of people ranges between 400,000 and 580,000, and between 12,000 and 26,000 being diagnosed each year. For example, the National Audit Office report 'Services for People with Rheumatoid Arthritis' estimates that 580,000 adults have rheumatoid arthritis, with approximately 26,000 new diagnoses each year. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence clinical guidance on the management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults, published in February 2009, estimates prevalence of 400,000 and annual incidence of 12,000.
	The variation in estimates reflect the different data sources used to calculate incidence and prevalence.

Cancer: Drugs

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 10 November 2009,  Official Report, column 242W, on cancer drugs, how many primary care trusts have made available each of the drugs listed as recommended for NHS use by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence under the patient access scheme.

Mike O'Brien: This information is not collected centrally.

Cancer: Nurses

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist cancer nurses for children and young people are employed by the NHS in each region.

Ann Keen: Specialist cancer nurses are not identified separately in the NHS Workforce Census.

Contraceptives: Health Education

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Guildford of 6 January 2010,  Official Report, column 471W, on contraceptives: health education, what consideration was given to including advertising of the benefits of the oral contraceptive pill in his Department's campaign on contraception: Worth talking about; what assessment he has made of the effect of his Department's campaign on usage of the oral contraceptive pill; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Sex. Worth talking about campaign highlights that there are 15 contraceptive options available, including two types of contraceptive pill. It aims to raise awareness of the longer acting methods which are more effective in typical use and are less well known among the public. The campaign is designed to encourage people to investigate all their options and to consider which method might best fit their lifestyle. It advises a discussion with a health-care professional in order to clarify these options, as medical considerations may impact an individual's final choice. It is too early to know if there has been an effect on usage of the oral contraceptive pill but the annual NHS Contraception Services Report, due October 2010, will be the first indication of any changes in the profile of contraceptive methods chosen by women.

Dementia

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on dementia research in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: Both the Department and the Medical Research Council support research into dementia. Annual expenditure figures are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Expenditure on dementia research 
			  £ million 
			   Department  Medical Research Council  Total 
			 2004-05 19 6.2 25.2 
			 2005-06 18.3 6 24.3 
			 2006-07 22.8 6.4 29.2 
			 2007-08 22.2 10.2 32.4 
			 2008-09 18.4 11.5 29.9

Departmental Consultants

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which outside consultancies undertook work commissioned by his Department in each year from 1997 to 2004; and what the  (a) purpose of and  (b) amount paid in relation to each commission was.

Phil Hope: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Written Questions

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methodology his Department used to determine whether answers to Questions in the formulation if he will set out with statistical information related as directly as possible to the tabling hon. Member's constituency the effects on that constituency of his Department's policies since 1997 could be provided without incurring disproportionate cost; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The statistical information requested in this formulation is already collected and held centrally by the Department and therefore does not incur disproportionate cost.

Direct Payments

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people are receiving direct payments for carers in each local authority area;
	(2)  how much funding has been allocated in each local authority area to administer personalised budgets in the next 12 months; and what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) existing and  (b) new recipients that will receive personalised budgets in each such area in the next 12 months;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of local authorities which will reach the 30 per cent. target for the number of people able to access personalised budgets for social care; and what steps he plans to take in relation to those authorities which do not reach that target;
	(4)  what guidance his Department is providing to local authorities on turning personalised budgets into direct payments; and what programmes have been established to assist this process.

Phil Hope: Data on the number of carers (aged 16 and over who are caring for adults aged 18 and over) in receipt of direct payments from councils with adult social services responsibilities (CASSRs) are collected and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care. Provisional data on the total numbers of carers in receipt of direct payments during the year 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, by CASSR are available and a copy has been placed in the Library. Final data for 2008-09 are expected to be published on 28 April 2010.
	The Department has given councils an Adult Social Care Reform Grant of £520 million to spend over three years from April 2008. This will enable them to make their social care services more personalised. It is a local decision about how much the local authority chooses to spend to administer personal budgets, which is only one part of the transformation programme. The Department does not collect prospective information. However, the Association for Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) has estimated that 200,000 people are likely to have a personal budget by April 2010.
	Although the Department collects information retrospectively on the number of people who receive personal budgets, no official estimate has been made of the number of councils that will have provided personal budgets to 30 per cent, of people eligible to receive community care services by April 2011. ADASS are currently undertaking a survey to identify council's progress and this report will be published in the summer.
	Councils which do not meet the target will be identified by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as part of their monitoring role. The Department has been working closely with CQC to ensure that a consistent message is delivered to councils.
	The following guidance and programmes have been provided to councils to help them operate and use direct payments and personal budgets:
	Personal budgets for older people-making it happen (January 2010). This guide focuses on how councils can make personal budgets work well for older people and their families. It looks at how to ensure personal budgets are accessible, simple to use, flexible and help to achieve the things that matter most to the people using them. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	Personal Budgets: Council Commissioned Services (January 2010). ADASS produced further advice on how personal budgets can work well for people who use council-commissioned services rather than a direct payment.
	ADASS and the Department published a set of materials which aim to help councils make progress with implementing 'Putting People First (2007) (PPF)' a copy of which has already been placed in the Library. These bring together the latest learning from councils and are linked to the PPF milestones agreed between ADASS, the Local Government Association and the Department in September 2009. These materials include:
	PPF operating models: early learning (October 2009). This resource was published by ADASS which provides advice and examples showing how innovative councils are approaching the transformation of their systems and the lessons they are learning.
	Guidance on direct payments: For community care, services for carers and children's services (September 2009). This departmental guidance provides information on how local councils might operate direct payments. It reflects the changes brought about by the new regulations and supersedes the 'Direct Payments guidance: community care, services for carers and children's services (Direct Payments) guidance England 2003'. It also reflects the Government's commitment to support independence, choice and control, as set out in Putting People First; A shared vision and commitment to the transformation of Adult Social Care and Aiming high for disabled children.
	The Department has also published a self-assessment and action planning guide (May 2007) to support councils and their partners. These local solutions have been collated to form a web-based nation solution set which is available at:
	http://kc.csip.org.uk/solutionset.php?grp=601

Eating Disorders

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines his Department has issued to NHS organisations on  (a) diagnosing and  (b) referring patients with eating disorders.

Phil Hope: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published clinical guidelines on core interventions in the treatment and management of eating disorders in 2004. Most people with an eating disorder are not admitted to hospital but treated in primary, out-patient or community care settings. General practitioners and clinicians are expected to refer to NICE guidance as often as is necessary.
	People with very severe and intractable eating disorders may require referral to highly specialised services when their health needs cannot be met within local mental health services. Access to these specialised services should be made on the basis of tertiary referrals from consultant to consultant.

General Practitioners: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) GPs and  (b) dentists were practising in Leeds, North-West constituency in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The number of general practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) practising within the former Leeds health authority and the Leeds primary care trust (PCT) area for 1997 and the latest date at which data is available is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number 
			   1997  2008 
			 Leeds Health Authority 422 n/a 
			 Leeds PCT n/a 518 
			 n/a = Not applicable.  Notes: 1. Data is not available at constituency level. Leeds PCT was created on 1 October 2006 from a complete merger of East Leeds PCT, Leeds North East PCT, Leeds North West PCT, Leeds West PCT and South Leeds PCT. Prior to 2002 Leeds was serviced by the Leeds Health Authority. This Health Authority may not map completely into the newly formed PCTs but has been provided here as background and appears consistent with subsequent aggregated PCT figures. 2. Data as at 1 October 1997 and 30 September 2008. 3. Data Quality: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses.  Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care general and personal medical services statistics 
		
	
	The numbers of national health service dentists, as at 31 March 1997 to 2006 are available in Annex E and Annex G of the NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report England: 31 March 2006. Annex E provides information by strategic health authority (SHA) and by PCT. Annex G provides information by constituency.
	This information is based on the old contractual arrangements, which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006. This report, published on 23 August 2006, has already been placed in the Library and is available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dwfactivity
	The numbers of dentists with NHS activity during the years ending 31 March 2007, 2008 and 2009 are available in Table G1 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2008-09 report. Information is provided for England and by SHA and PCT but is not available by constituency. This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006. This report, published on 19 August 2009, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0809
	Following a recent consultation exercise, this measure is based on a revised methodology and therefore supersedes any previously published workforce figures relating to the new dental contractual arrangements. It is not comparable to the information collected under the old contractual arrangements. This revised methodology counted the number of dental performers with NHS activity recorded via FP17 claim forms in each year ending 31 March.
	These published figures relate to a headcount and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.

Health Centres: Finance

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much  (a) resource and  (b) capital funding has been allocated to each primary care trust to build new GP-led health centres.

Mike O'Brien: A £250 million access revenue fund was secured for the national health service through the comprehensive spending review process to support the delivery of general practitioner (GP) health centres in every primary care trust (PCT) and over a 100 new GP practices in the most poorly served PCTs. In all, £120 million per annum has been allocated to PCTs for new GP health centres and this has been included using a weighted capitation formula to determine each PCTs fair share of resources.
	No specific capital funding has been allocated for the development of GP health centres. Where capital investment is required to support the development of new GP facilities, PCTs can use the funds available to them for local capital investment priorities.

Home Care Services: Birmingham

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of people aged 65 years or over in Birmingham received assistance to live at home in each year since 1997; and how much funding was provided for such purposes in each of those years.

Phil Hope: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care collects information on the number of people aged 65 and over in receipt of local authority funded community based services and the expenditure on these services. Reliable data about numbers of people receiving community-based services are only available from 2001-02. Information about expenditure on services is only available from 2000-01.
	Table 1 shows the number of adults-aged 65 and over-in receipt of community based services from Birmingham city council as at 31 March for the years 2001-02 to 2004-05 and the total gross current expenditure on community based services for adults-aged 65 and over-for the financial years 2000-01 to 2004-05.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   Number aged 65 or over in receipt of community-based services( 1)  Population aged 65 or over( 2)  Number aged 65 and over helped to live at home per 1,000 population( 1)  Expenditure( 3 ) (£000) 
			 2000-01 - - - 46,082 
			 2001-02 13,500 141,900 95 47,597 
			 2002-03 11,500 141,600 81 41,110 
			 2003-04 10,600 140,600 76 47,113 
			 2004-05 8,500 139,600 61 47,197 
			 (1) As at 31 March each year. Community based services/helped to live at home includes planned short breaks, professional support, transport and equipment and adaptations, in addition to home care, day care and meals services. The definition of people aged 65 and over is taken to be the same as the earlier Performance Assessment Framework Indicator AO/C32: Older people helped to live at home (BVPI 54). (2) Mid year population estimates provided by the Office for National Statistics. (3) Expenditure data are for the full financial year.  Sources: RAP P2s and PSS EX1 returns. 
		
	
	In 2004-05, revised guidance was issued, excluding from the statistics people receiving services from grant-funded organisations who had not had a community care assessment. As a result, data on the number helped to live at home from that time onwards are not comparable to data from previous years.
	Table 2 shows the number of adults-aged 65 and over-in receipt of community based services from Birmingham city council as at 31 March for the years 2005-06 to 2008-09 and the total gross current expenditure on community based services for adults-aged 65 and over-for the financial years 2005-06 to 2008-09.
	
		
			  Table 2 
			   Number aged 65 or over in receipt of community-based services( 1)  Population aged 65 or over( 2)  Number aged 65 and over helped to live at home per 1,000 population( 1)  Expenditure( 3)  (£000) 
			 2005-06 8,200 138,700 59 54,145 
			 2006-07 9,200 137,400 67 60,608 
			 2007-08 7,700 135,600 56 59,813 
			 2008-09(4) 7,000 136,400 52 82,876 
			 (1) As at 31 March each year. Community based services/helped to live at home includes planned short breaks, professional support, transport and equipment and adaptations, in addition to home care, day care and meals services. The definition of people aged 65 and over is taken to be the same as the earlier Performance Assessment Framework Indicator AO/C32: Older people helped to live at home (BVPI 54). (2) Mid year population estimates provided by the Office for National Statistics. (3) Expenditure data are for the full financial year. (4) 2008-09 data are provisional.  Sources: RAP P2s and PSS EX1 returns.

Hospitals: Consultants

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) distinction awards and  (b) clinical excellence awards were made to hospital consultants in each of the last five years; and what the (i) monetary value per grade and (ii) total monetary value of each such award was in each of those years.

Ann Keen: The last new distinction award was made in 2003.
	From 2004, clinical excellence awards were made as a replacement for distinction awards. The number of new national clinical excellence awards granted in the last five years, by award level and the monetary value of each award, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Award year  Award level  Number of new awards granted  Monetary value (£) 
			 2009 Bronze 332 35,484 
			  Silver 186 46,644 
			  Gold 52 58,305 
			  Platinum 31 75,796 
			 
			 2008 Bronze 344 34,956 
			  Silver 159 45,955 
			  Gold 42 57,443 
			  Platinum 31 74,676 
			 
			 2007 Bronze 338 34,200 
			  Silver 178 44,965 
			  Gold 28 56,206 
			  Platinum 32 73,068 
			 
			 2006 Bronze 330 33,970 
			  Silver 157 44,657 
			  Gold 47 55,821 
			  Platinum 38 72,567 
			 
			 2005 Bronze 325 33,468 
			  Silver 154 43,997 
			  Gold 60 54,996 
			  Platinum 34 71,495 
			  Notes:  1. The information in the table does not include information on local clinical excellence awards (employer-based awards) which are given by trusts.  2. It is not possible to quantify the number of awards given specifically to hospital consultants without incurring disproportionate cost. The figures given are for all eligible consultants and will include clinical academics and consultants in a non-hospital setting.  3. It is not possible to calculate the total monetary value of each award without incurring disproportionate cost. Awards are paid to consultants pro rata. Historical information is not retained in the format required.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people had been waiting for treatment at Northampton general hospital for  (a) over two years,  (b) between one and two years,  (c) between six months and one year and  (d) up to six months in (i) 1997, (ii) 2001 and (iii) the latest year for which figures are available.

Phil Hope: Information on waiting times for elective admission patients still waiting (weeks) for Northampton general hospital during the time periods 1996-97, 2000-01 and 2009-10 (provider-based) is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  In-patient waits 
			   0  6 months  6  12 months  12  24 months  24 months+  Total 
			 March 1996-97 4,370 1,207 219 0 5,796 
			 March 2000-01 4,736 1,346 402 0 6,484 
			 January 2009-10 3,779 0 0 0 3,779 
			  Note:  In-patient waiting times are measured from decision to admit by the consultant to admission to hospital.  Source: DH KH07 and MMRPROV collections.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2010,  Official Report, column 774W, on medical treatments: waiting lists, what the mean waiting time for all treatments was in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  In-patient waiting times-commissioner based 
			  Period  (March each year)  Mean wait (weeks) 
			 1997 18.1 
			 1998 20.0 
			 1999 18.6 
			 2000 18.7 
			 2001 18.1 
			 2002 17.4 
			 2003 15.6 
			 2004 12.4 
			 2005 10.6 
			 2006 8.7 
			 2007 7.4 
			 2008 5.6 
			 2009 5.3 
			  Source: Department of Health, QF01, MMRCOM 
		
	
	Figures shown relate to March each year, and are a snapshot of the mean wait of patients waiting at the end of each period. The latest data available are for January 2010, and this figure shows the mean wait of those still waiting at the end of that month of 6.2 weeks. It is not unusual to see such increases in the winter months, and in particular this year given the severity of the winter weather.
	March 2010 data will be published on 30 April 2010.

Mental Health Services: Older People

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to tackle age discrimination in mental health services for older people.

Phil Hope: In December 2009 the Government launched 'New Horizons: A Shared Vision for Mental Health', a comprehensive programme for improving the mental health and well-being of the population and services for those with poor mental health. It takes a lifespan approach, from laying down the foundations of good mental health in childhood, through promoting and protecting continued well-being into adulthood, to supporting and maintaining resilience in older age.
	We want to make sure that mental health services move away from arbitrary distinctions between working age adults and older adults. We are working with the Royal College of Psychiatrists and others to assist mental health service providers to develop age-appropriate non-discriminatory services. As a first step, 'New Horizons' provides the descriptors of such services, to assist in this work.

Methadone: Gloucestershire

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made an estimate of the number of people being prescribed methadone in Gloucestershire primary care trust in  (a) the latest period for which figures are available and  (b) each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Figures on the number of prescription items for methadone prescribed in Gloucestershire primary care trust (PCT) and the other PCTs from which it was formed in October 2006 
			   Items  Financial year 
			  PCT  Methadone classification  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10( 1) 
			 Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Cough suppressant 7 2 n/a n/a n/a 
			  Analgesia 13 6 n/a n/a n/a 
			  Substance dependence 1,174 706 n/a n/a n/a 
			
			 Cotswold and Vale Cough suppressant - 1 n/a n/a n/a 
			  Analgesia 3 4 n/a n/a n/a 
			  Substance dependence 628 405 n/a n/a n/a 
			
			 West Gloucestershire Cough suppressant - - n/a n/a n/a 
			  Analgesia 48 17 n/a n/a n/a 
			  Substance dependence 2,117 1,772 n/a n/a n/a 
			
			 Gloucestershire Cough suppressant n/a 4 5 7 5 
			  Analgesia n/a 19 60 102 76 
			  Substance dependence n/a 2,623 5,930 6,744 3,730 
			 Total  3,990 5,559 5,995 6,853 3,811 
			 (1) April to September.  Notes: 1. Data at PCT level is taken from the ePACT system (Prescribing Analysis and Cost Tool), which stores data for 60 months. Data for the final quarter of 2009 is embargoed until after the publication of the associated National Statistic in April 2010. The ePACT system covers prescriptions prescribed by general practitioners (GPs), nurses, pharmacists and others in England and dispensed in the community in the United Kingdom. For data at PCT level, prescriptions written by a prescriber located in a particular PCT but dispensed outside that PCT will be included in the PCT in which the prescriber is based. Prescriptions written in England but dispensed outside England are included. Prescriptions written in hospitals/clinics that are dispensed in the community, prescriptions dispensed in hospitals, dental prescribing and private prescriptions are not included in PACT data. It is important to note this as some British National Formulary (BNF) sections have a high proportion of prescriptions written in hospitals that are dispensed in the community. 2. The BNF describes three uses for Methadone, as a cough suppressant, for analgesia and for the treatment of substance dependence. Figures for each of these have been given but the classification does not guarantee that it was used for that purpose. 
		
	
	The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) figures for the Gloucestershire drugs partnership area on the number of people receiving prescribed opioid substitute treatment (mainly methadone or buprenorphine) from specialist community services or their GP, but not which drug they are being prescribed.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2005-06 1,358 
			 2006-07 1,459 
			 2007-08 1,542 
			 2008-09 1,683 
			  Notes: 1. Figures collected by NDTMS before 2005-06 are not considered robust enough broken down at local level. 2. Figures combine numbers receiving prescribed opioid substitute treatment from a specialist community services or GPs. 3. NDTMS does not record which drug is prescribed (methadone or buprenorphine). 4. Figures for Gloucestershire PCT are not collected centrally but the Trust covers the same area as the drugs partnership.

NHS: Compensation

James Plaskitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information the Care Quality Commission holds on the payment of compensation from public funds by health authorities and agencies to private companies and individuals; and if he will place a copy of that information in the Library.

Mike O'Brien: The information has been provided by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
	The CQC does not routinely seek, gather or hold information on payments of compensation.

NHS: Crimes of Violence

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many assaults on NHS  (a) doctors,  (b) nurses,  (c) ambulance personnel and  (d) non-clinical staff have been reported in each London primary care trust in each year since 2000; and how many criminal sanctions resulted in each such case.

Ann Keen: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the number of reported physical assaults against national health service staff in England is contained in the 'Tables Showing Number of Reported Physical Assaults on NHS Staff from 2004-05 to 2007-08, Broken Down by NHS Trust/PCT' and 'Tables Showing Number of Reported Physical Assaults on NHS Staff in 2008-09, Broken Down by NHS Trust/PCT', which have already been placed in the Library.
	The numbers of criminal sanctions reported following assaults against NHS staff in England since 2004-05 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 759 
			 2005-06 850 
			 2006-07 869 
			 2007-08 992 
			 2008-09 941 
		
	
	Criminal sanctions include:
	cautions and conditional cautions;
	community rehabilitation or punishment orders;
	imprisonment (including suspended sentences);
	conditional discharges; and
	fines.
	The NHS Security Management Service (SMS) can assist employers through guidance on assessing risks and acting to protect staff from assaults and, where incidents do occur, on taking action against offenders. The NHS SMS also works with stakeholders, including the Social Partnership Forum, to promote the safety and security of NHS staff.

NHS: Parking

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what statistics each NHS organisation reported to his Department in Estates Returns Information Collection on  (a) the number of car parking spaces it provided for (i) staff, (ii) patients and (iii) visitors,  (b) the average fee charged per hour for (A) patient, (B) visitor and (C) staff parking and (c) the number of parking spaces for disabled people provided in each year from 1997-98 to 2008-09.

Mike O'Brien: The information is not available in the exact format requested.
	Since 2001-02, the Department has collected annual data from national health service trusts on car parking provision and any associated charges through the Estates Returns Information Collection. The available data for each year since 2001-02 have been placed in the Library.
	The information provided has been supplied by the NHS and has not been amended centrally. The accuracy and completeness of the information is the responsibility of the provider organisation.
	The provision of hospital car parking and any associated charges are decided locally by individual NHS trusts to help cover the cost of running, maintaining and securing a car park. All NHS trusts should have exemption and concessionary schemes in place to ensure that patients and carers who visit hospital regularly are not disadvantaged. They should also have sustainable public transport plans in place for staff and visitors.

NHS: Private Finance Initiative

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals in each trust are subject to a private finance initiative contract; what the length is of each such contract; and what the annual unitary charge is that each such hospital is charged under its contract.

Mike O'Brien: The information in respect of the private finance initiative schemes has been placed in the Library. The list shows all national health service trusts and primary care trusts with a private finance initiative contract with the name and location of the scheme; the capital value; the length of the contract and the annual unitary charge (which are uprated annually for inflation).

Primary Care Trusts

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information each primary care trust is required to provide to his Department each  (a) month and  (b) year.

Mike O'Brien: Information that primary care trusts are required to provide to the Department via central data collections is shown in the table. Other data are collected on behalf of the Department by the NHS Information Centre and other arm's length bodies.
	The table shows the frequency of each data collection, including monthly and annual data. The table was extracted from the Information Catalogue which is held and published by the NHS Information Centre. Data collections from the NHS are subject to regulation by the Review of Central Returns (ROCR) process. ROCR is administered by the NHS Information Centre.
	www.icapp.nhs.uk/infocat/default.aspx
	www.ic.nhs.uk/services/the-review-of-central-returns-rocr
	
		
			  Data collections received by the Department from primary care trusts 
			  Collection title  Data requirement  Frequency 
			 National Capabilities Survey Mandatory Two yearly 
			 Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards (ACCEA)-Collection of non-ESR items Mandatory Annual 
			 Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards (ACCEA)-Employer Based Awards Reports Mandatory Annual 
			 Attribution Data Set (ADS) Mandatory Annual 
			 Bed availability and occupancy KH03 Mandatory Annual 
			 Charges for excess balances held in commercial bank accounts (FIS9) exercise Mandatory Annual 
			 Diagnostic Departments: Radiology, nuclear medicine and medical physics Mandatory Annual 
			 Emergency Continuity Business Preparedness Mandatory Annual 
			 Health Checks for people with learning disabilities Mandatory Annual 
			 Monitoring use of additional investment provided to support implementation of the End of Life Care (EOLC) Strategy proposal Mandatory Annual 
			 National Child Measurement Programme Mandatory Annual 
			 NHS Information Governance Assessment Mandatory Annual 
			 Notification of Partnership Intentions between Health Services and Local Authorities using Section 75 Health Act Flexibilities or Section 28 Grant Arrangements Mandatory Annual 
			 Primary Care Trust-Financial Returns (PFR 5 Forms) Mandatory Annual 
			 Programme Budgeting-NHS Trust and Foundation Trust Apportionment Reports Mandatory Annual 
			 Three year funding for third sector organisations Mandatory Annual 
			 Vital Signs Mandatory Annual 
			 Collection of Influenza vaccine update data-immunisation of poultry workers Mandatory Annual and monthly 
			 HPV immunisation programme-vaccine monitoring minimum dataset Mandatory Annual and monthly 
			 HPV immunisation programme-vaccine monitoring minimum dataset (catch-up programme) Mandatory Annual and monthly 
			 Mental Health Minimum Dataset (MHMDS) Mandatory Annual and quarterly 
			 Equity ownership of special purpose vehicles in PFI schemes Mandatory Bi-annual 
			 NHS Campus Closure Programme Mandatory Bi-annual 
			 Database of nominated recipients at all GP practices in England for alerts to patient feedback on NHS Choices Mandatory Continuous 
			 Sitreps weekly and daily Part mandatory Daily/weekly 
			 18 Weeks Referral to Treatment (RTT) Times Monthly Data Collection Mandatory Monthly 
			 Diagnostics Waiting Times and Activity Data Collection Mandatory Monthly 
			 Genito-Urinary Medicine 48 Hour Access Target Monthly Monitoring (GUMAMM) Mandatory Monthly 
			 Monitoring extended GP practice opening hours-part of Vital Signs Mandatory Monthly 
			 Monthly Activity Flow Mandatory Monthly 
			 National Direct Access Audiology PTL and WT Dataset Mandatory Monthly 
			 Swine Flu vaccine uptake data from GP registered patients Part mandatory Monthly 
			 Central Alerting System (CAS) Mandatory Ongoing 
			 Non-medical Device Defects and Failures Reporting System Mandatory Ongoing 
			 Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) Mandatory Ongoing 
			 2008-09 Financial Monitoring and Accounts Mandatory Quarterly 
			 Chlamydia Core Dataset for national programme monitoring Mandatory Quarterly 
			 Financial Information Systems (FIS), Family Health Services (FHS), General Ophthalmic Service Mandatory Quarterly 
			 Health of the Population Return (HotPR) Mandatory Quarterly 
			 Integrated Drug Treatment System for prisons Clinical Activity Mandatory Quarterly 
			 Monitoring Revisions to new GP Contract-FIMS(FHS)4 and PFR1A-D data collection from PCTs 2006-7 Mandatory Quarterly 
			 Prevalence of Breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks Mandatory Quarterly 
			 QMAE Quarterly monitoring of accident and emergency Mandatory Quarterly 
			 QMCO-Quarterly Monitoring of Cancelled operations Mandatory Quarterly 
			 Quarterly Activity return Mandatory Quarterly 
			 Redundancy Data Collection Mandatory Quarterly 
			 Vital Signs Monitoring Returns Mandatory Quarterly 
			 Vital Signs Monitoring Returns-continuation of lines Mandatory Quarterly 
			 18 Weeks Referral to Treatment Primary Target List (18 Week RTT PTL) Mandatory Weekly 
			 Health Care Worker Seasonal Flu and Swine Flu Vaccine Uptake Mandatory Weekly 
			  Notes: 1. This table contains collections approved by the Review of Central Returns Committee (ROCR) as at 12 March 2010 where primary care trusts are a source organisation. It includes all mandatory and statutory ongoing returns from primary care trusts where the Department of Health is shown as the receiving organisation in the ROCR system. Voluntary returns are not included. 2. Other data are received on behalf of the Department by the NHS Information Centre and other arm's length bodies. 3. A part mandatory collection is one where some data items are required and some are optional.

Prosthetics

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2010,  Official Report, column 912W, on health services: armed forces, 
	(1)  what NHS expenditure on  (a) prosthetic and  (b) orthotic care was in each year from 2000-01 to 2009-10; and how much is budgeted for such care by each strategic health authority area in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15;
	(2)  how many people received  (a) prosthetic and  (b) orthotic care from the NHS in each year from 2000-01 to 2009-10; and what estimate he has made of the number of people who will receive such treatment in each strategic health authority area in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Mike O'Brien: This information is not collected centrally. The provision of prosthetic and orthotic care and services is undertaken by a multidisciplinary clinical and assessment team. This may include NHS health and trauma care, mental health assessment, occupational health therapy, prostheses and orthotic devices and ongoing assessments and care.
	Funding for prosthetic and orthotic care and services is provided within the NHS budget. NHS expenditure on separate or accumulative elements of care and services for the provision of prosthetic and orthotic care and services is not collected centrally.

Respite Care: Finance

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms he plans to put in place to hold primary care trusts to account for their spending on carers' breaks.

Phil Hope: Primary care trusts (PCTs) have flexibility to decide how much to invest on individual priorities in the light of their local circumstances and the NHS operating framework priorities.
	Departmental officials have written to strategic health authorities (SHAs) asking them to identify where PCTs have agreed with their local authority to prioritise carers' support for the current year and those that are likely to prioritise it for the next year. Responses have started coming in from SHAs and officials are following up with those who have yet to respond. The replies received so far indicate that a number of PCTs have identified carers as a local priority, are increasing their level of investment and are planning and working jointly with their local authority partners to support carers. The need for further intervention will be determined once all responses have been analysed.

Respite Care: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated to Leeds, North-West primary care trusts for carer's respite in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11.

Phil Hope: The national carers strategy, Carers at the Heart of 21st Century Families and Communities, identified the funding that was available within primary care trust (PCT) baselines to improve support for carers. A copy has already been placed in the Library. It announced that £150 million would be given to PCTs to provide carers' breaks (£50 million in 2009-10, and £100 million in 2010-11). Although this is new money, it is part of PCT baseline allocations and PCTs have not been advised of individual sums for carers' breaks. It is for PCTs to decide their priorities for investment locally, taking into account their local circumstances and priorities as set out in the national health service operating framework.
	Department directors of NHS Performance and Adult Social Care Performance have written to strategic health authorities to identify where PCTs have agreed with their local authority to prioritise carers' support for the current year, and those that are likely to prioritise it for the next year. This information will help ensure the Department has a rounded picture when considering the priority afforded to carers in future planning rounds. The Department has ensured that the NHS Operating Framework for 2010-11 brings out the role carers can make as expert partners in care, as well as the need to provide support for them. This includes the provision of carers' breaks.

Skin Cancer: Greater London

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged  (a) under and  (b) over 18 years (i) have been treated for and (ii) have died as a result of skin cancer in each London primary care trust in each year since 2000.

Ann Keen: The information requested on the number of people treated for skin cancer is not collected centrally. A table, which displays a count of finished admission data by primary care trust where skin cancer was a primary diagnosis, has been placed in the Library.

Stem Cells

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what reports he has received on treatments for  (a) children and  (b) adults with disabling conditions developed as a result of (i) human embryo, (ii) embryonic stem cell and (iii) non-embryonic stem cell research since 2006; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what reports he has received on progress in developing cures for diseases of  (a) adult stem cell,  (b) embryonic stem cell and (iii) human embryo research since July 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department does not have a record of any specific reports it has received on research into treatments or cures for diseases developed from a specific human stem cell source since 2006.

Written Questions: Government Responses

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the internal background note for each parliamentary question tabled by the hon. member for Southend West and answered by his Department since January 2009.

Phil Hope: The information requested could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

PRIME MINISTER

Sir David Omand

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Prime Minister whether the Intelligence and Security Committee has received the report of Sir David Omand referred to in paragraph 177 of the annual report of that Committee for 2007-08; what the reasons are for the time taken to disclose that report to the Committee; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Brown: Sir David Omand's report was sent to the Intelligence and Security Committee in November 2008. The Government accepted all of Sir David's conclusions and have implemented each of the recommendations in the report as far as is practicable.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to whom a complaint from  (a) a student aged 19 years or over and  (b) an apprentice aged 19 years or over and attending a (i) further education college and (ii) sixth form college will be referred if the student is dissatisfied with that college's response to their complaint after 1 April 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The current policy for complaints from a student aged 19 years or over is that they can complain to the relevant regional office of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) which funds the further education college or sixth form college in question. The LSC would only consider such complaints once the college's own internal complaints procedure has been fully exhausted.
	From 1 April 2010, complaints from learners aged 19 years and over will be dealt with by the chief executive of Skills Funding. Complaints about sixth form colleges will be dealt with by the relevant local authority and subsequently directed to the Local Government Ombudsman if the complainant continues to remain dissatisfied. All complaints from Apprentices will be directed to the Skills Funding Agency after exhausting the provider mechanisms.
	The Legal Team of the Learning and Skills Council are currently revising the complaints procedures for both the Skills Funding Agency and the Young People's Learning Agency in preparation for the transition on 1 April 2010.

Apprentices

David Evennett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the budget for apprenticeships for those aged 19 years and over was in the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: The breakdown of funding allocations for those aged 19 and over in the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			  19+ apprenticeship funding participation (England) 
			   £ million 
			 2005-06 232 
			 2006-07 218 
			 2007-08 229 
			 2008-09 347 
			 2009-10 390 
			  Sources:  2005-06: LSC Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06. 2006-07 and 2007-08: LSC Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08. 2008-09: LSC Annual Report and Accounts 2008-09. 2009-10 Skills Investment Strategy 2010-11.

Broadband

Lembit �pik: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with  (a) British Telecom and  (b) other internet service providers on testing lines for faults known to affect broadband services; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: I have had no such discussions.

Credit

John Battle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what research has been undertaken by his Department on the level of interest rates charged in the (a) legal and  (b) illegal home credit market; and what the highest rate of interest charged was in each such case.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 22 March 2010
	Research carried out for the DTI by Policis in 2004 gave an example of an APR in the legal home credit market of 497 per cent. The Competition Commission investigation of the home credit market in 2006 stated that APRs in the home credit market range from 150 to 500 per cent. One of the remedies introduced by the Commission was the requirement for all home credit providers to include their products on a website, lenders compared, to enable customer comparison of prices. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation reported that the break-even APR for a not-for-profit home credit company was between 123 and 129 per cent. The OFT is reviewing the high cost credit market, including the home credit market, and they will report shortly.
	The Department commissioned a research report into the scope and extent of illegal money lending in the UK by Policis and the Personal Finance Research Centre (PFRC) in 2006. The total cost of credit charged by illegal money lenders was on average £185 per £100 advanced, approximately three times the cost of credit from the highest cost legal lenders and more than double what people expected to pay. Loan sharks' interest rates can vary from 500 per cent. up to as high as 11 million per cent. in some extreme cases.

Departmental Food

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that the meat and dairy products procured by his Department and its non-departmental bodies are free range or produced to standards equivalent to those of the RSPCA Freedom Food scheme.

Pat McFadden: This Department adheres wherever possible to the key objectives of the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI), which advises public sector bodies how they can specify higher animal welfare standards, including farm assurance schemes and higher level schemes such as the RSPCA's Freedom Foods standards. These objectives run in parallel to those of our contracted catering supplier, BaxterStorey, which form part of our policies that result in our approach to sustainable and ethical procurement. BaxterStorey are committed to buying 100 per cent. British meat, both reared and processed and are accredited to the Red Tractor Farm Assurance Scheme, demonstrating robust support for enhanced animal welfare, environmental responsibility, quality produce and supporting British producers.
	All eggs used on the BIS estate are British, Lion Brand standard and free range, all milk used in the kitchens, cafes and hospitality service is British.
	Information about the Department's non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Languages

Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many  (a) Ministers and  (b) civil servants in his Department received coaching in a foreign language in the last 12 months; what expenditure his Department incurred in providing such coaching; and in what languages such coaching was provided.

Pat McFadden: Foreign language coaching is not provided for staff or Ministers in BIS. We do provide access to language training in a range of languages including French, Spanish and Portuguese, although the information about which languages have been studied is not centrally monitored. This information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
	In the last 12 months the following language training has been funded:
	 Ministers
	£0.00
	 Civil servants
	£29,529 (including £5,372 spent within UKTI).

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been paid in reimbursable expenses to special advisers in his Department and its predecessors in each of the last five years.

Pat McFadden: The following reimbursable expenses have been paid to the Department's ministerial special advisers during the last five years:
	
		
			  Financial year  Total expenses paid (£) 
			 2004-05 1,608.89 
			 2005-06 1,741.70 
			 2006-07 1,325.08 
			 2007-08 807.72 
			 2008-09 590.74 
		
	
	All reimbursed expenses are for duties undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Code, Civil Service Management Code and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

Departmental Publications

David Davis: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the dates of publication of any regular statistics or reports by his Department have been affected by planning for the forthcoming general election.

Pat McFadden: On the announcement of a general election, the Cabinet Secretary issues guidance to Departments on their activities during the pre-election period. This will be published on the Cabinet Office website.
	Regular statistical releases and reports will continue to be issued and published during the election period on dates which have been pre-announced.

Departmental Written Questions

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what methodology his Department used to determine whether answers to questions in the formulation if he will set out with statistical information related as directly as possible to the tabling hon. Member's constituency the effects on that constituency of his Department's policies since 1997 could be provided without incurring disproportionate cost; and if he will make a statement.

Pat McFadden: The Department obtained information from internal data sources and a number of other databases including the Local Area Labour Force survey and the Annual Population Survey in order to answer these questions. The relevant sources were identified in each answer. Given the availability of the information, disproportionate costs were not a factor in providing answers.

Estate Agents

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of regulation of estate agents; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Office of Fair Trading recently published a market study report entitled Home Buying and Selling, which considered the effectiveness of regulation in respect of estate agents. The Government will respond to the OFT's recommendations addressed to them in due course.

Government Assistance

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what initiatives announced by his Department since November 2009 to assist  (a) small and medium-sized enterprises and  (b) individuals (i) have been implemented and (ii) remain to be implemented; on what date each was implemented; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Brown: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have taken measures that have assisted hundreds of thousands of companies across the country.
	Large numbers of businesses have benefited from the actions taken to stabilise the banking system and keep credit flowing.
	The Business Payment Support Service, launched in November 2008, supports small businesses to make use of the Time to Pay scheme which allows companies to spread their tax payments over a timetable they can afford. This was extended at PBR 2009. Since its launch, the Government have arranged some 305,000 agreements, with more coming through every day. Some companies have been able to benefit more than once, allowing over 160,000 companies to defer over £5.2 billion in tax. The Business Link Health Checks has provided over 117,000 businesses with free and impartial advice. In addition, regional development agencies help hundreds of thousands of businesses each year. Thousands of businesses have also been able to claim tax relief which has been extended on losses from one to three years. The Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme is enabling additional bank lending to thousands of small and medium-sized businesses, extended in PBR 2009. Through Train to Gain, over 80,000 businesses have received support to enable their staff to undergo training. In total, well over 300,000 businesses have received support. And in addition, the PBR 2009 decision to further defer the increase in the Small Companies' Rate of corporation tax from next month, will help around 850,000 small businesses.
	1.8 million properties owned by business will also be able to improve cash flow by spreading an increase in business rates over the next three years which allows for the deferral of up to £700 million.
	The Growth Capital Fund to attract private sector investment for UK small and medium-sized businesses will be implemented later this year.
	The UK Innovation Investment Fund is backing British innovation, currently consisting of £325 million of public and private investment with the potential to raise £1 billion of investment over the next 10 years. The Government are also proposing to reduce the burden of regulation enabling small businesses to get on with their work.
	There are a number of other initiatives to help individuals, especially young people. For example, the Government are:
	Building on the September Guarantee that ensures all 16 and 17-year-olds are offered a suitable place in learning, by guaranteeing the offer of a place on an Entry to Employment programme-for those young people aged 16-18 who are not yet ready or able to enter apprenticeship, employment or further learning opportunities;
	Providing a new Young Person's guarantee for 18 to 24-year-olds to ensure access to jobs, training and work experience opportunities after six months claiming for jobseeker's allowance; and
	Creating an additional 35,000 new advanced apprenticeships for 19 to 30-year-olds over the next two years, almost doubling capacity and creating a new class of British technician-filling a longstanding gap in the British labour market.
	Further measures will be announced in the Budget.

Higher Education: Anti-Semitism

Denis MacShane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent reports he has received on  (a) anti-Semitic and  (b) anti-Israel speeches made by speakers at British university campuses; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: The Department has received a number of letters from Jewish students following a Jewish student lobby of Parliament about hate speakers on some university campuses. My right hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Mr. MacShane) has also written to me about a reported anti-Israel speaker appearing at two universities.
	Decisions about external speakers must rest with universities themselves. In this area universities are bound by the law both in protecting freedom of speech on campus, even if that free expression is controversial, and protecting students and staff against harassment or violence. The Government have made clear that there is no place for anti-Semitism or any other form of racism or intolerance in HE. Universities have access to guidance from both Government and the sector itself on promoting good campus relations, which draw out the considerations institutions need to give to free expression on campus and to addressing illegal behaviour.
	There is a very clear dividing line set out in law between political debate, discussion of doctrine or faith and incitement to commit or glorify violence or terrorism. This line should not be thought vague. When the law is broken on campus those responsible must be reported to the relevant authorities. There is both a moral duty and importantly a legal obligation to do so.

Housing: Sales

Bob Neill: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many sale and rent back transactions for residential property there were in the last 12 months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have extended the scope of FSA regulation to include the sale and rent back market. Regulation will bring important protection for consumers in this market, preventing exploitation of vulnerable homeowners and providing means of redress for those who experience problems.
	Full regulation of this market will commence in June 2010 but, in recognition of stakeholders' concerns, the Government have put in place real protections for homeowners now by introducing an interim regulatory regime in July 2009.
	The FSA has started gathering data on the number of sale and rent back agreements entered into by regulated firms since the outset of the interim regime. However, figures are not available at this early stage.

Housing: Sales

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects to provide a response to the Office of Fair Trading's recent recommendations on the regulation of home buying and selling.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 March 2010,  Official Report, column 154W.

Insolvency: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses employing  (a) fewer than 10,  (b) between 11 and 50,  (c) between 51 and 100,  (d) between 101 and 200 and  (e) over 200 employees have been declared insolvent in Leeds, North-West in each year since 2000.

Ian Lucas: Official statistics covering corporate insolvencies are not currently available at a sub-national level within England and Wales.
	Additionally, the number of employees is not recorded on the source datasets.
	Self-employed traders may be declared bankrupt (or enter into an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA)). While official regional figures down to constituency level for self-employed bankrupts are maintained from calendar year 2000, the number of employees (if any) is not available.

Internet

Lembit �pik: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has made an assessment of the likely effects on small businesses which provide access to the internet of the provisions proposed in the Digital Economy Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: This Department and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport made an assessment of the likely effects of the provisions proposed in the Digital Economy Bill in the Bill's Impact Assessments, republished on 16 March 2010 to take account of amendments made in the House of Lords. Copies are available in the Commons Vote Office and will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Learning and Skills Council

David Evennett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills who was invited to the LSC Recognition Event referred to in item 3.1 of the Learning and Skills Council national council minutes of 9 December 2009; and what the cost was of the event.

Kevin Brennan: The event was to recognise the significant contribution of LSC non-executive members to the learning and skills agenda prior to the organisation's abolition on 31 March and to encourage their continuing support to public service in the future. A selection of LSC national council members, regional council chairs and members, along with a limited number of key personnel from LSC national and regional offices were invited to the event. A total of 104 people attended.
	The total cost of the event was £3,554.

Learning Disability

Mark Harper: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate has been made of the number of learners with learning difficulties and or disabilities who will be categorised under the provision of the Adult Learner Responsive sub-total for the Foundation Learning (excluding Skills for Life) category in the Strategy Document, Skills Investment Strategy 2010-11, November 2009 in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10 and  (c) 2010-11; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is responsible for the funding of further education (FE) and training for adult learners aged 19 and over.
	It is for learners to declare whether or not they consider themselves to have a learning difficulty and/or disability (LDD). As a result, the actual number of learners in this category accessing FE and skills provision will vary from year to year depending on demand, but has been around 200,000 each year from 2006/07 to 2008/09 academic year (the latest whole year for which data is available).
	Within this overall total, learners with LDD follow various courses, depending on their personal preferences or the nature of their disability. It is therefore not possible to say how many learners of the total with LDD will pursue courses that would be categorised as Foundation Learning through Adult Learner Responsive route. The Skills Investment Strategy 2010-11, does, however, set out the commitment that the total adult FE and Skills budget will provide sufficient funding to maintain volumes at the level of previous years.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Bob Neill: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether any businesses in ports have informed  (a) his Department and  (b) the Insolvency Service that they have gone into liquidation as a consequence of their payments of backdated business rates in the last six months.

Ian Lucas: The Department has had no contact on this issue.
	There is insufficient detailed information held centrally by the Insolvency Service, and in a readily available format, to provide an answer to this question. This is because:
	businesses in ports is not a standard industry classification and therefore is not recorded;
	addresses are not available to then be able to count companies giving a port as part of their address;
	causes of failure of companies in liquidation are not recorded centrally.

Research: Diabetes

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the causes of type 1 diabetes; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. The MRC is an independent body which receives its grant in aid from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The MRC funds a broad portfolio of diabetes research amounting to £28.1 million in 2008-09, of which £6.5 million was directly relevant to type 1 diabetes. Much of the research funded by MRC involves both type 1 and type 2, and often includes both underpinning studies and studies on the prevention, treatment and the downstream consequences of type 1 diabetes.
	The MRC always welcomes high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are judged in open competition with other demands on funding. Awards are made according to their scientific quality and importance to human health. The MRC does not normally allocate funds to particular topics, and research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. When appropriate, high quality research in particular areas of strategic importance may be given priority in competition for funds, but research excellence and importance to health continue to be the primary considerations in funding decisions.

RRS Discovery

Frank Field: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the reasons are for the time taken to announce the preferred bidder for the Natural Environment Research Council's research vessel.

David Lammy: holding answer 22 March 2010
	The Natural Environment Research Council is still going through the formal procedures in relation to this procurement. No announcement will be made until these are complete.

Sheffield Forgemasters: Loans

Dai Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what rate of interest will be charged on the £80 million loan to Sheffield Forgemasters announced on 17 March 2010; what the repayment period is of the loan; what guarantee his Department sought from Sheffield Forgemasters in respect of that loan; and whether the European Commission has approved that loan under state aid rules.

Pat McFadden: The offer of conditional support to SFIL is in the form of a £80 million direct loan. Although the key heads of the deal have been agreed some details will not be finalised until after commercial due-diligence is completed and European Commission approval has been granted.

Wi-Fi

Lembit �pik: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the number of  (a) hotels,  (b) cafés,  (c) bars,  (d) train operators,  (e) launderettes and  (f) other small businesses that provide open wi-fi services; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: I have no plans to make such estimates.

Wi-Fi

Lembit �pik: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of business users of open wi-fi; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: No such estimates have been made.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Danny Alexander: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects to answer question  (a) 315627 and  (b) 315628, on debt recovery agencies, tabled on 1 February 2010 by the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 March 2010,  Official Report, column 1020W.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Aerials: Planning Permission

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 6 January 2010,  Official Report, column 360W, on aerials: planning permission, what his Department's timetable is for amending planning policy guidance on telecommunications.

Ian Austin: The review of planning policy guidance note 8: Telecommunications has not yet been programmed.

Affordable Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many new  (a) low cost home ownership and  (b) social homes were (i) flats and (ii) houses in each local authority area in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many new  (a) low cost home ownership and  (b) social homes had (i) one, (ii) two, (iii) three and (iv) four or more bedrooms in each local authority area in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: Tables will be placed in the Library of the House which shows the number of low-cost home ownership and social rented homes delivered through the Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Housing Programme by the number of bedrooms and by houses or flats for each local authority area. These figures are only available from the Homes and Communities Agency's Investment Management System, so will not cover the total number of affordable homes.

Allotments

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Colchester of 9 September 2009,  Official Report, columns 2003-4W, on allotments, if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter from his Department to the Government Office responsible for determining applications for consent for disposal of statutory allotments in England.

Barbara Follett: A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Audit Commission: Consolidated Communications

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2010,  Official Report, column 474W, on Consolidated Communications, if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the briefing notes on legislative issues and policy announcements produced by Consolidated Communications for the Audit Commission.

Rosie Winterton: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the Chief Executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 23 March 2010:
	The Audit Commission ceased its contract with Consolidated Communications in October 2008. All retained briefing notes have been placed in the Library as below:
	Pre-Budget 2006 report
	Budget 2006 briefing
	Overview of the London Assembly's Audit and Inspection Committee
	Distribution of reports to Parliamentarians
	Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the new inspection arrangements for local government
	Biography of the Children's Commissioner
	Background information on healthy eating campaigns
	Calendar of housing events
	List of housing stakeholders
	Briefing note on the Department for Communities and Local Government
	Biography of Liam Byrne MP
	A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

Council Tax

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2010,  Official Report, column 475W, on council tax, how much gross council tax revenue in  (a) cash terms and  (b) real terms in 2008-09 prices was raised by each local billing authority in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) 2008-09.

Barbara Follett: I have today placed in the Library of the House a table containing details of the amount of gross council tax revenue in  (a) cash and  (b) real terms at 2008-09 prices raised in each local authority area in England in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) 2008-09.
	The data are taken from the Quarterly Return of Council Tax and Non-domestic rates (QRC4) forms completed annually by all billing authorities in England and the real terms data are given at 2008-09 prices using the retail price index.

Council Tax

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 15 December 2009,  Official Report, column 985W, on council tax: billing, what the cost was of each of the two telephone surveys.

Barbara Follett: The telephone surveys undertaken as part of the review of the operation of the 2008 regulations governing the inclusion of efficiency information on and with council tax bills were carried out by existing members of staff in the Department in the course of their normal activities; no additional costs were incurred by the Department.

Council Tax

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations his Department has received from trade unions on proposals for a council tax freeze in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: The Department has received no such representations.

Council Tax: Greater London

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average band D council tax was in each London borough in each year from 1997 to 2010.

Barbara Follett: Details of the average band D council tax in each London borough in each year from 1997-98 to 2009-10 are available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/counciltax/
	Data for 2010-11 will be available from 24 March.

Council Tax: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what level of council tax was set for a band D property, including all precepts apart from parish council precepts, in each  (a) district council and  (b) unitary authority in Yorkshire and the Humber in each year from 2002-03 to 2010-11.

Barbara Follett: Details of the level of the band D council tax, including all precepts apart from parish council precepts, in each  (a) district council and  (b) unitary authority in Yorkshire and the Humber region in each year from 2002-03 to 2009-10 are available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/counciltax/
	Data for 2010-11 will be available from 24 March.

Councillors: Codes of Practice

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons the secondary legislation required to bring into force the new councillor code of conduct will not be considered in accordance with the originally planned timetable.

Rosie Winterton: The priorities for Government at this time are the economy and actions to support a sustainable recovery. We must make the best use of parliamentary time and, while I recognise the importance of conduct matters, there is a robust code of conduct for local authority members already in place which is being used very successfully by local authority members and conduct regime practitioners.

Councillors: Codes of Practice

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance the Standards Board for England has issued to local authorities on the employment of external investigators to conduct investigations into alleged breaches of the code of conduct for councillors.

Rosie Winterton: General guidance on the delegation of investigations is included in the 'Local investigations guidance' issued by the Standards Board for England, and specific guidance on outsourcing investigations to another organisation or individual is included in their guidance 'How to conduct an investigation guide'. Both sets of guidance are available on the Standards Board's website at:
	http://www.standardsforengland.gov.uk/Media/Local%20investigations%20and%20other%20action.pdf
	and
	http://www.standardsforengland.gov.uk/media/How%20to%20conduct%20and%20investigation.pdf

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2010,  Official Report, column 1498W, on departmental internet, what the cost was of the website redesign.

Barbara Follett: The Department spent £90,650 on redesigning its corporate website in 2005.
	For information relating to the redesign of the Department's corporate website in August 2007, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Dhanda) on 20 May 2008,  Official Report, column 264W.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many designs for its  (a) internal website and  (b) intranet his Department and its predecessor have commissioned since 2005; and what the cost was of each such design.

Barbara Follett: The Department's intranet was redesigned in 2007 as part of a Government-led project to review, rationalise and converge its websites. For information relating to the costs of the redesign, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Dhanda) on 20 May 2008,  Official Report, column 264W. As design costs were shared across three sites; the corporate website, intranet and Info41ocol, we are unable to report intranet costs alone.

Departmental Manpower

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Career Transition Centre (CTC) was established in his Department's headquarters; how many  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time staff of each (i) grade, (ii) ethnicity and (iii) disability have registered with the CTC; and for how long on average members of each category of staff have been registered with the CTC since it was established.

Barbara Follett: The Department's redeployment pool, known as the Career Transition Centre (CTC), was established in central Communities and Local Government in April 2008. It includes staff returning from loans, secondments, and career breaks, as well as those currently without permanent posts due to restructuring.
	210 staff have registered with the CTC, 189 of which were  (a) full-time and 21 were  (b) part-time staff. The following table shows the breakdown of these figures in terms of (i) grade (ii) ethnicity and (iii) disability, and the average length of time staff in each category were registered with the CTC. The numbers are small enough in a range of grades for individual staff to be potentially identifiable by their grade and ethnic background. The breakdown is therefore set out in a range of grades.
	
		
			  Number of CTC registered staff 
			   (a) Full-time staff  (b) Part-time staff  Total  Average  length of time  registered with the CTC in weeks 
			  (i) Grade 
			 EM3-EO 91 9 100 27 
			 HEO-G7 89 12 101 16 
			 G6-SCS 9 0 9 26 
			  (ii) Ethnicity 
			 Black and Asian Minority Ethnic 61 5 66 23 
			 Diversity Data Not Completed 42 4 46 26 
			 Do Not Wish to Disclose 2 0 2 1 
			 White/ White: Any Background 84 12 96 20 
			  (iii) Disability 
			 Data Not Completed 41 4 45 26 
			 Do Not Wish to Disclose 3 1 4 3 
			 No 125 13 138 20 
			 Yes 20 3 23 27 
			 Total 189 21 210 22

Departmental Publications

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the dates of publication of any regular statistics or reports by his Department have been affected by planning for the forthcoming general election.

Barbara Follett: On the announcement of a general election, the Cabinet Secretary issues guidance to Departments on their activities during the pre-election period. This will be published on the Cabinet Office website.
	Regular statistical releases and reports will continue to be issued and published during the election period on dates which have been pre-announced.

Departmental Publications

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of each issue of his Department's in-house staff magazine distributed in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: The Department for Communities and Local Government was created on 5 May 2006. Copies of every issue of the staff magazine produced up until early December 2007 were placed in the Library of the House in response to a question from the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 4 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1152W. Copies of the Department's staff magazine have since been placed in the Library on a regular basis. I can confirm that the most recent edition is now available.

Departmental Senior Civil Servants

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many senior civil servants of each grade in his Department were  (a) given early retirement,  (b) given severance and  (c) received payment for the early termination of a fixed-term appointment in each year since 2005; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such departure.

Barbara Follett: The following table shows the numbers of senior civil servants given early retirement in each year since 2005.
	
		
			   Scheme  Grade SCSI  Cost SCSI (£)  Grade SCS2  Cost SCS2 (£)  Grade SCS3  Cost SCS3 (£)  Total cost (£) 
			 2005-06 Early retirement 6 1,417,467 2 470,448 0 0 1,887,915 
			 2006-07 Early retirement 3 459,456 2 605,388 1 1,154,201 2,219,045 
			 2007-08 Early retirement 5 876,431 1 395,725 0 0 1,272,156 
			 2008-09 Early retirement 3 1,003,032 0 0 0 0 1,003,032 
		
	
	The following table shows the numbers of senior civil servants given severance in each year since 2005.
	
		
			   Scheme  Grade SCSI  Cost SCSI (£)  Grade SCS2  Cost SCS2 (£)  Grade SCS3  Cost SCS3 (£)  Total cost (£) 
			 2005-06 Severance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2006-07 Severance 0 0 1 136,557 0 0 136,557 
			 2007-08 Severance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2008-09 Severance 1 183,054 0 0 0 0 183,054 
		
	
	The figures for the current year 2009-10 have not been provided as the year end totals are not yet available.
	There is no documentation to show that any senior civil servant has received payment for the early termination of a fixed term appointment.

Departmental Surveys

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the benchmark results of the Civil Service People Survey for his Department and its agencies.

Barbara Follett: I will arrange for a copy of the results of the Civil Service People Survey for this Department and the relevant agencies to be placed in the Library of the House in due course.

Departmental Theft

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to deter theft from within the Department.

Barbara Follett: The Department for Communities and Local Government operates a robust access control system, supported by internal and external CCTV cameras.
	CLG facilities operate a pass-wearing policy for all staff and visitors while on Communities and Local Government premises. The system is regularly promoted and staff are encouraged to challenge anyone seen not wearing the appropriate pass. There are also regular security awareness campaigns to remind staff of their security responsibilities.

Departmental Written Questions

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what methodology his Department used to determine whether answers to Questions in the formulation if he will set out with statistical information related as directly as possible to the tabling hon. Members' constituency the effects on that constituency of his Department's policies since 1997 could be provided without incurring disproportionate cost; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: The answers provided refer to publicly available data sources. This information was provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether any reduction in expenditure arising from a reduction in the frequency of a household rubbish collection service would qualify as an efficiency saving that can be reported on the efficiency return of a local authority's council tax bill.

Barbara Follett: An efficiency gain is generated when a council restructures service provision to provide a more efficient service to the same client group in a way that maintains overall output and service quality. A reduction in the frequency of a household rubbish collection service could qualify as a valid efficiency if the net costs of waste collection fall while service quality is maintained.
	Local authorities have been required to include efficiency information on council tax bills and leaflets since the 2009-10 billing round. Regulations require them to publish efficiency gains calculated in accordance with the guidance published on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/reportingvfmguide
	The guidance requires local authorities to report the net total of current cash-releasing value for money gains that have impacted since the start of the 2008-09 financial period. They are not required to report efficiency gains broken down by individual service sectors.

Empty Dwelling Management Orders

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2010,  Official Report, column 365W, on Empty Dwelling Management Orders, if he will place in the Library a copy of each presentation and handout delivered at the seminar of 23 April 2009.

Ian Austin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright) on the 2 June 2009,  Official Report, column 453W.

Energy Performance Certificates

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2010,  Official Report, column 212W, on energy performance certificates, whether quality assurance procedures identified errors relating to the formula used to determine energy ratings for the energy performance certificate register during the period 18 September 2008 to June 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Austin: holding answer 15 March 2010
	CLG validates and approves all software for producing energy performance certificates (EPCs). There were no errors in our approved software between 18 September 2008 and June 2009.

Fire Services: Greater London

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the latest go-live date is for the regional fire control room in London.

Shahid Malik: holding answer 15 March 2010
	Under current planning assumptions the regional fire control centre for London is due to become operational during September 2011. In view of the proximity of this date to the Olympic Games, I have written to the Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority to ask if they wish to move this date back until after the Olympics. I have also offered to explore the possibility of moving their current control into the Regional Control Centre so that London can benefit from the facilities and enhanced resilience the new building offers during the Olympics.

Government Offices for the Regions

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in which Government Office regions have regional European Strategy Boards been established.

Rosie Winterton: European Strategy Boards have been established in the Government Office regions for North-East England, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber. Similar groups have been established in and the Government Office regions for the North- West and East of England.

Government Offices for the Regions: Finance

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2010,  Official Report, column 485W, on Government Offices for the Regions: finance, what the aggregate programme expenditure was of Government Offices for the Regions in each year since 1997-98.

Rosie Winterton: Aggregate programme expenditure administered by the Government Office Network for 2008-09 and the projections for 2009-10 are provided in my response to questions 323101/323145.
	We do not hold figures for earlier years. In these years the Government Office Network had delegated authority to spend against sponsor Departments programmes and these figures are recorded in the accounts of the respective Departments. The Government Office Network currently has 12 sponsor Departments:
	Department of Communities and Local Government
	Business Innovation and Skills
	Department of Transport
	Department for Children, Families and Schools
	Department of Work and Pensions
	Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs
	Home Office
	Ministry of Justice
	Department of Energy and Climate Change
	Department of Culture, Media and Sport
	Cabinet Office
	Department of Health

Government Offices for the Regions: Finance

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of his Department's programme budgets were administered by Government Offices for the Regions in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Rosie Winterton: The programme budgets administered by the Government Office Network on behalf of Communities and Local Government for both 2008-09 and 2009-10 are listed as follows. There is one exception; Public Service Agreement 16 Challenge Fund began being administered by the Government Office Network in 2009-10.
	Regional Assembly Grant
	Regional Housing Pot
	Regional Chambers Fund
	Disabled Facilities Grant
	European Regional Development Fund-Objectives 1 and 2 (defrayed expenditure in respect of 2000-06)
	New Deal for Communities
	Preventing Violent Extremism
	Local Area Agreements
	Gypsy and Traveller Site Grant
	PSA 16 Challenge Fund (began being administered by the Government Office Network in 2009-10)

Green Belt

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 2 March 2010,  Official Report, column 1139W, on the green belt, in respect of which broad locations each regional spatial strategy recommends a review of green belt designation.

Ian Austin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 13 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 1318-20W.

Home Information Packs

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2010,  Official Report, column 359W, on home information packs, if he will place in the Library a copy of the final report of the working group on condition information in the home buying and selling process.

Ian Austin: We will place a copy of the final report of the working group on condition information in the home buying and selling process in the Library in due course.

Home Information Packs

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2010,  Official Report, column 269W, on home information packs, on what date the final report of the working group on condition information in the home buying and selling process was submitted to his Department; and when he plans to publish his response to that report.

Ian Austin: holding answer 1 March 2010
	The final report of the working group on condition information in the home buying and selling process was submitted to the Department on 17 December 2009. We will set out our response in due course.

Housing: Conferences

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by the Homes and Communities Agency on  (a) travel and  (b) accommodation for employees attending the MIPIM international property conference in (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009.

Barbara Follett: The Homes and Communities Agency was formed on 1 December2008 and did not therefore attend the 2008 MIPIM conference. In 2009 the agency spent £2,983 on travel and £29,321 on accommodation.

Housing: Conferences

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many employees of the Homes and Communities Agency attended the MIPIM international property conference in  (a) 2008 and  (b) 2009.

Barbara Follett: HCA was formed on 1 December 2008 and did not attend the MIPIM conference in that year. Seven members of HCA staff attended the MIPIM conference in 2009.

Housing: Conferences

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much he expects his Department to spend on  (a) travel and  (b) accommodation for (i) Ministers and (ii) officials attending the MIPIM international property conference in March 2010.

Barbara Follett: No departmental Ministers or officials are attending the MIPIM conference in March 2010.

Housing: Conferences

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials of his Department expect to attend the MIPIM international property conference in March 2010.

Barbara Follett: None.

Housing: Construction

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what percentage of new  (a) affordable and  (b) social homes were built to Code Level (i) 1, (ii) 2, (iii) 3, (iv) 4, (v) 5 and (vi) 6 in each of the last three years.

Ian Austin: It is not possible to identify affordable and social homes separately.
	Under the NAHP, achievement of Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes (the Code) became a required standard for bids for funding to be allocated from April 2008. Homes built in 2006-07 and 2007-08 were therefore largely completed before the Code became a funding requirement. During this time, EcoHomes was the applicable standard. The following table shows the number of schemes meeting the EcoHomes standard in the last three years.
	
		
			   2008-09  2007-08  2006-07 
			  ECO Homes certification  Total completions  Percentage of total completions  Total completions  Percentage of total completions  Total completions  Percentage of total completions 
			 Pass 1,133 2.41 1,544 3.40 3,371 9.28 
			 Good 6,286 13.36 9,003 19.80 13,296 36.62 
			 Very good 25,610 54.43 20,188 44.41 6,623 18.24 
			 Excellent 1,176 2.50 674 1.48 366 1.01 
			 Total completions 47,049 - 45,462 - 36,308 -

Housing: Regeneration

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made by the Home and Communities Agency in its Single Conversation process in north Kent; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The Local Investment Plan (LIP) for North Kent arising from the Single Conversation is due to be finalised by the end of March. It will then be considered by the Thames Gateway Kent Leaders Board. Further information, can be obtained from the Homes and Communities Agency's south-east regional office.

Local Authority Business Growth Incentive Scheme

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has allocated to the local authority business growth incentive scheme in each year to date; and whether he expects the scheme to continue after 2010-11.

Barbara Follett: For the period 2005-06 to 2007-08, £1 billion was allocated to LABGI: £935 million to England and £65 million to Wales. The National Assembly for Wales has been responsible for distribution of its LABGI allocation.
	In England, the Government have given the following total sums in LABGI grants each year:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 115,455,797 
			 2006-07 328,003,805 
			 2007-08 92,152,517 
			 2008-09 396,194,175 
			 2009-10 50,000,000 
		
	
	The Government have recently indicated that they intend to distribute LABGI grant totalling £50 million in 2010-11.
	Decisions about the future of LABGI will be taken as part of the next spending review.

Local Government Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department applocated per capita to each local authority in England in  (a) 2009 real terms prices and  (b) cash terms in each year since 1997.

Barbara Follett: The Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses published at
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pesa09_chapter7.pdf
	by HM Treasury show central Government grants to local government. The outturn figures are analysed between Departments but not between local authorities. The level of data analysis requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost

Local Government Finance

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will direct the Audit Commission not to incur expenditure on lobbying activity against proposals to abolish comprehensive area assessments.

Rosie Winterton: The Department's Accounting Officer has already written to all the Department's executive public bodies, including the Audit Commission, to remind them of their obligations when appointing public relations or other consultants, including that it will always be an improper use of public funds for NDPBs to employ PR or other consultants to lobby parliament or Government Departments in an attempt to influence Government policy or obtain higher funding. A copy of that letter has been placed in the Library of the House.

Local Government: Bank Services

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have had requests to capitalise Icelandic banking losses refused; and what the grounds for refusal were in each case.

Barbara Follett: The list of authorities who applied for capitalisation in 2009-10 on the grounds of exceptional financial difficulties and whose applications were refused is available on the Department's public website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/xls/1451009.xls
	It is for each authority to determine whether they wish to indicate the precise circumstances which led them to make an application under the exceptional financial difficulties category.
	In each case, the application was refused because it did not meet the criteria for exceptional financial difficulties contained within the guidance to authorities. This is available on the Department's public website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/1197739.pdf

Local Government: Standards

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the speech of the Minister for Local Government and Community Cohesion of 28 February 2006, on driving improvement: beyond CPA, what steps his Department has taken to implement double devolution since February 2006.

Rosie Winterton: Since the then Minister for Local Government and Community Cohesion delivered his speech in February 2006, the Department for Communities and Local Government has published two White Papers and passed two major pieces of legislation, the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 which clearly demonstrate the actions taken to implement double devolution. A key element of this work has been the introduction in 2008 of the new local performance framework, which aimed to lessen the burden and bureaucracy of assessment on local government, by reducing the number of performance indicators on which councils are measured from around 1,200 to 188-and replacing the old Comprehensive Performance Assessment with the new, lighter touch Comprehensive Area Assessment in April last year. We have already reduced the number of inspection days in councils by a third, while the cost of the independent inspection has been reduced by 30 per cent.
	We have also increased financial freedom and stability to local government through the first ever three-year finance settlement, reduced ring-fencing, and devolved powers to local authorities, enabling them to create parish councils, make and enforce certain byelaws and increasing their choice in democratic processes such as electoral schemes and leadership style. We have strengthened the opportunity for local people to take action for themselves, promoting the transfer of assets from local government to local people where these could be better run for community benefits, and introducing community contracts, where residents and local agencies agree on the priorities for their area and the action both will take to achieve them. We have funded the Participatory Budgeting Unit to support local authorities in activities to involve local people in prioritising specified budgets and have increased councillors' powers to raise issues up the agenda of the local authority by introducing the Councillor Call for Action, which enables any councillor to refer an issue to the overview and scrutiny committee. We have also recently passed legislation that will give citizens greater power to hold local authorities to account and influence local services. This includes a new duty for local authorities to respond to petitions from local people; and the extension of scrutiny arrangements, enabling local people, through their councillors, to influence decisions which affect their day to day lives and give them more say over what their council is doing for them and complementing measures to increase engagement and empowerment in key local services.
	The Strengthening Local Democracy public consultation last July, and our response published on 5 February, affirms our continuing commitment to principles of devolution at all levels. In addition, Putting the Front-line first: Smarter Government published on 9 December sets out how Government will meet new challenges and deliver better public services for lower costs by: driving up standards through strengthening the roles of citizens and civic society; freeing up public services by recasting the relationship between the centre and the front-line and streamlining central Government, saving money through sharper delivery.

Local Government: Standards

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has allocated to local authorities in performance reward grants in each year to date; and how much such funding has been allocated for  (a) 2010-11,  (b) 2011-12 and  (c) 2012-13.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 1 March 2010,  Official Report, column 961W. As part of the comprehensive spending review 2007 £340 million was allocated to the current round of performance reward grant funding.
	This Department has published guidance on the operation of the reward scheme; it is available on the Department's website:
	www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/laarewardguidance2009

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects updated figures for the take-up rate of the Homeowners Mortgage Support Scheme next to be published.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 16 December 2009,  Official Report, column 1297W.

Multiple Occupation: Licensing

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 14 December 2009,  Official Report, column 915W, on multiple occupation, what steps his Department is taking in respect of local authorities which have not reported the Register of Licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation data to his Department; and for what reason such data were not intended to be part of the National Indicator set.

Ian Austin: Local authorities not currently supplying data to the Department for the Register of Licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (ROLHMO) are contacted on a monthly basis for updates as to when they will be in a position to supply data. It is not a statutory requirement for local authorities to provide data.
	The collection of information from local authorities serves a range of purposes. The national indicator set is limited to measures for Government's priority outcomes. There are many services and activities undertaken by local government, alone or in partnership, which are not directly reflected in the national indicator set but which will continue to be important to local areas and the people they serve. It is more appropriate that these are performance-managed locally-with local authorities setting priorities and reviewing performance.

Non-Domestic Rates

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average change is in  (a) business rate valuations and  (b) business rates payable between 2009-10 and 2010-11 taking into account the rate poundage and transitional relief in each local authority area in England.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 15 March 2010
	I have placed a table containing the average change in  (a) rateable value and  (b) the national non-domestic rates bill after transitional relief in the Library of the House.
	The data used to produce the average change in rateable value between 2009-10 and 2010-11 are consistent with the statistical release titled Non-domestic rateable values: 2010 Local Ratings Lists-England and Wales published on 18 December 2009. A copy of this statistical release is available at the following link:
	http://www.voa.gov.uk/publications/statistical_releases/VOA_Statistics_Release_Final.pdf
	No estimates of the average change in bills have been made, as these contain not only transitional relief but all other reliefs, some determined at the billing authorities' discretion. Therefore it is not possible to estimate the likely bill of a hereditament.
	For the purpose of modelling the 2010 Transitional Relief scheme, the Notional Chargeable Amount (NCA) was calculated. The NCA for a given year is the product of the rateable value and that year's small business multiplier. The NCA is then compared to the previous year's reference value increased by the caps. The minimum of these two values was used as a proxy for the bill after transition.
	The data used for this modelling are consistent with the consultation document titled The transitional arrangements for the non-domestic rating revaluation 2010 in England. Details on the methodology and assumptions used can be found on page 49 of the consultation. The assumptions underlying this modelling include zero inflation, which does not reflect the latest information available, and adjustments for appeals. A copy of the consultation document is available at the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/nndrrevaluation2010
	Rateable values are only one part of the rates bill. The other is the ratings multiplier-which is applied to calculate final bills. To compensate for the higher property market at the time of revaluation we have reduced the multiplier by 15 per cent. taking it to its lowest level for 17 years-this is designed to ensure the Government do not collect an extra penny from revaluation and that each business pays its fair contribution by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others.
	Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government have put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases, which in 2010-11 will ensure no business property sees its rates bill increase by more than 11 per cent. as a result of the revaluation, with maximum increases capped at just 3.5 per cent. for small properties. That is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Non-Domestic Rates

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of businesses in England will receive  (a) an increase and  (b) a reduction in their (i) business rate valuation and (ii) business rates payable taking account of the rate poundage and transitional relief as a result of the most recent revaluation.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 15 March 2010
	The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Table 1: Number and share of hereditaments in England whose rateable value will increase or decrease as a result of the 2010 revaluation 
			   Number of  h ereditaments (thousand)  Proportion of  a ll  h ereditaments (percentage) 
			 Increase in RV 1,276 74 
			 Decrease in RV 187 11 
			 No change in RV 255 15 
		
	
	The data used to produce the number and proportion of hereditaments in England that will receive an increase or decrease in rateable value are consistent with the statistical release titled Non-domestic rateable values: 2010 Local Ratings Lists-England and Wales published on 18 December 2009.
	A copy of this statistical release is available at the following link:
	http://www.voa.gov.uk/publications/statistical_releases/VOA_Statistics_Release_Final.pdf
	No estimates of the number and proportion of hereditaments in England that will receive an increase or decrease in bill have been made, as these contain not only transitional relief but all other reliefs, some determined at the billing authorities' discretion. Therefore it is not possible to estimate the likely bill of a hereditament.
	However, for the purpose of modelling the 2010 Transitional Relief scheme, my Department has estimated a proxy for rates bills in 2009-10 and 2010-11. The Notional Chargeable Amount (NCA) was calculated which for a given year is the product of the rateable value and that year's small business multiplier. The NCA is then compared to the previous year's reference value increased by the caps. The minimum of these two values was used as a proxy for the bill after transition. The result of these proxy calculations is shown in table 2.
	
		
			  Table 2: Number and share of hereditaments in England whose proxy bill, calculated by the Department before inflation and other reliefs but after transition, will increase or decrease as a result of the 2010 revaluation 
			   Number of  h ereditaments (thousand)  Proportion of  a ll  h ereditaments (percentage) 
			 Increase in bill 677 40 
			 Decrease in bill 1,028 60 
		
	
	The data used for this modelling are consistent with the consultation document titled The transitional arrangements for the non-domestic rating revaluation 2010 in England. Details on the methodology and assumptions used can be found on page 49 of the consultation. The assumptions underlying this modelling include zero inflation, which does not reflect the latest information available, and adjustments for appeals. A copy of the consultation document is available at the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/nndrrevaluation2010
	The total number of hereditaments on the draft list used for the modelling of proxy bills is lower than on the draft rating list from which the number of properties with increasing or decreasing rateable values was taken. This is because the modelling was initially undertaken when the VOA had not compiled the full rating list and explains the discrepancy between the total number of hereditaments included in table 1 and 2 above.
	Rateable values are only one part of the rates bill. The other is the ratings multiplier-which is applied to calculate final bills. To compensate for the higher property market at the time of revaluation we have reduced the multiplier by 15 per cent. taking it to its lowest level for 17 years-this is designed to ensure the Government do not collect an extra penny from revaluation and that each business pays its fair contribution by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others.
	Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government have put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases, which in 2010-11 will ensure no business property sees its rates bill increase by more than 11 per cent. as a result of the revaluation, with maximum increases capped at just 3.5 per cent. for small properties. That is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Non-Domestic Rates

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 9 December 2009,  Official Report, column 399W, on non-domestic rates, what assumptions his Department made regarding  (a) the number of appeals against rateable values,  (b) the success rate of such appeals and  (c) the resulting change in total rateable value from such appeals in each region in each year from 2009-10 to 2014-15.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 22 March 2010
	No assumptions were made about the number or success rate of appeals. However, for the purpose of modelling the 2010 Transitional Relief scheme, my Department has made an assumption about the total reduction in RV as a result of appeals.
	The assumptions used for this modelling are detailed in the consultation document titled 'The transitional arrangements for the non-domestic rating revaluation 2010 in England'. The methodology and assumptions can be found on page 49 of the consultation. A copy of the consultation document is available at the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/nndrrevaluation2010

Non-Domestic Rates: Empty Property

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which  (a) companies,  (b) business organisations,  (c) property owners,  (d) property organisations,  (e) councils and  (f) local government organisations his Department has (i) met and (ii) received correspondence from on the subject of (A) empty property rates and (B) empty property relief since January 2007.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 22 March 2010
	Ministers and Officials from the Department meet stakeholders regularly to discuss a range of matters, including empty property rates. The Department monitored empty property rates correspondence between March 2007 and December 2008 and received 349 letters. Figures on correspondence received outside of that period could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2010,  Official Report, column 1154W, on non-domestic rates: ports, who took the decision that port businesses should be separately rated; and when the decision was taken.

Barbara Follett: Valuation officers are required under Section 41 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 to maintain accurate rating lists. When they become aware that a change is needed, such as that at the ports, they must make the alteration and also specify the date from which the change should become effective for rates charging purposes.
	The principles concerning separate rateability where there is exclusive occupation and paramount control are long established. The leading case on the subject is a House of Lords decision from as far back as 193-6-Westminster Council v. Southern Railway Company and W.H. Smith and Son.
	The VOA rated ports and properties within ports for the 2005 list based upon information supplied by the ports operators and indeed a significant number of separate assessments appeared in the rating lists for individual port occupiers at this stage, even before the ports review was initiated.
	It was only after the list was compiled that-through routine work to keep the lists up to date-it was found that at Southampton Container Terminal the assessment for the 2000 list may not have correctly reflected the extent to which separate property within the Port of Southampton needed to be assessed. Action was therefore taken by the VOA to amend the list, but this action was strongly disputed by the other parties and legal and valuation argument followed: only once that appeal had been withdrawn, (in April 2006), were the VOA able to satisfy themselves of the correct approach in relation to certain types of port occupation and they immediately instigated the review of ports. Port operators were advised by letter of the ports review and its background in May 2006.
	As a result of the review, which ended in 2008, 725 newly assessed properties were added to the ratings list. The decision to add each of these would have been made by the relevant valuation officer in each instance.
	The review of ports by the Valuation Office Agency is to ensure that all individual business properties within and outside ports are rated fairly to ensure that the burden of contributions to funding local government is shared fairly among businesses around the country.
	The Government have listened to the concerns of businesses with significant and unexpected backdated bills, including some businesses within ports. It has legislated to enable such bills to be repaid over an unprecedented eight years rather than in a single instalment, helping affected businesses to manage the impact on their cash flows during the downturn by reducing the amount they are required to pay now by 87.5 per cent.
	As at October 8l 2009, local authorities have reported that ratepayers occupying 221 properties within ports had fully discharged their backdated liability and ratepayers occupying a further 200 business properties within ports had been granted a schedule of payments.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 1152-3W, on non-domestic rates: ports, when the cumulo rating system was ended; by what means it was ended; and what notice was given to port owners of its ending.

Barbara Follett: There has been some confusion about the application of this system, which has not ended and is still in place. The term cumulo (artificial hereditament) is used to describe properties (hereditaments) within the same occupation (of the port authority), that under the normal rules of rating would be shown as individual entries, as a single entry in the rating list.
	It is clear from the regulations governing the use of this technique (Regulation 5 of the Non-Domestic Rating Miscellaneous Provisions (2) Regulations 1989 (SI 1989/ 2303)) that it is a method for identifying a statutory port authority only and not for combining properties occupied by other businesses, under the same rateable value as the port authority.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many appeals have been lodged with  (a) the Valuation Office Agency and  (b) valuation tribunals against new business rate assessments for firms in ports; how many have been fast-tracked; how many have been concluded; and of those concluded how many have been upheld (i) in whole and (ii) in part.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 20 January 2010,  Official Report, column 387W.
	Most proposals (appeals) are not specific about the particular issues they wish to challenge. The Valuation Office Agency is not therefore able to provide details as to which proposals that result in a change to the rating list were allowed (i) in whole or (ii) in part.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been issued to local authorities on the collection of backdated business rates from firms in ports.

Barbara Follett: The Valuation Office Agency has not issued guidance to local authorities on this matter. The Department has not issued specific guidance to local authorities regarding the collection of backdated liabilities for port based ratepayers. However, we have issued guidance and information on collecting monies under the eight year schedule of payments scheme through an information letter that can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/1178175.pdf
	The Government have listened to the concerns of businesses with significant and unexpected backdated bills, including some businesses within ports. They have legislated to enable such bills to be repaid over an unprecedented eight years rather than in a single instalment, helping affected businesses to manage the impact on their cash flows during the downturn by reducing the amount they are required to pay now by 87.5 per cent. and assist authorities by being able to collect the money over the eight years.
	As at 8 October 2009, local authorities have reported that ratepayers occupying 221 properties within ports had fully discharged their backdated liability and ratepayers occupying a further 200 business properties within ports had been granted a schedule of payments.

Non-Domestic Rates: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much on average was paid in business rates in the City of York in 2009-10; and what estimate he has made of the likely average amount to be paid in 2010-11 taking account of transitional relief.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 15 March 2010
	The figure derived from dividing the forecast net rate yield from the city of York's rating list in 2009-10 by the number of hereditaments on that local list as at 31 December 2008 is £14,600. Data are as reported to Communities and Local Government by the city of York on their 2009-10 National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR) returns.
	No estimates of the average bill in 2010-11 have been made, as these contain not only transitional relief but all other reliefs, some determined at the billing authorities' discretion. Therefore it is not possible to estimate the likely bill of a hereditament and any comparison with the average bill in 2009-10 will be flawed as it cannot take account of all of these reliefs.
	However, for the purpose of modelling the 2010 Transitional Relief scheme, my Department has estimated a proxy for rates bills in 2010-11. The Notional Chargeable Amount (NCA) was calculated which for a given year is the product of the rateable value and that year's small business multiplier. The NCA is then compared to the previous year's reference value increased by the caps. The minimum of these two values was used as a proxy for the bill after transition. The figure derived from dividing the total of all proxy bills for 2010-11 in the city of York by the number of hereditaments on the draft 2010 rating list used for the Department's 2010 transitional relief modelling is £16,300.
	The data used for this modelling are consistent with the consultation document titled The Transitional Arrangements for the Non-domestic Rating Revaluation 2010 in England. Details on the methodology and assumptions used can be found on page 49 of the consultation. The assumptions underlying this modelling include zero inflation, which does not reflect the latest information available, and adjustments for appeals. A copy of the consultation document is available at the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/nndrrevaluation2010
	The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
	Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government have put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases, which in 2010-11 will ensure no business property sees its rates bill increase by more than 11 per cent. as a result of the revaluation, with maximum increases capped at just 3.5 per cent. for small properties. That is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Non-Domestic Rates: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many businesses in the City of York were liable to pay business rates in 2009-10; how many such businesses will face  (a) an increase and  (b) a reduction in (i) their rateable value as a result of the business rates revaluation, (ii) the rates they pay in cash terms in 2010-11 taking into account the rate poundage and transitional relief and (iii) the rates they pay in 2010-11 taking into account the rate poundage and transitional relief and discounting the national average increase in business rates between 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 15 March 2010
	The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Table 1: Number and share of hereditaments in the city of York whose rateable value will increase or decrease as a result of the 2010 revaluation 
			   Number of hereditaments( 1)  Proportion of all hereditaments (percentage) 
			 Increase in RV 5,200 86 
			 Decrease in RV 300 6 
			 No change in RV 500 8 
			 (1) Rounded to the nearest 100. 
		
	
	The data used to produce the number and proportion of hereditaments in the city of York that will receive an increase or decrease in rateable value are consistent with the statistical release titled Non-domestic Rateable Values: 2010 Local Ratings Lists-England and Wales published on 18 December 2009.
	A copy of this statistical release is available at the following link:
	http://www.voa.gov.uk/publications/statistical_releases/VOA_Statistics_Release_Final.pdf
	No estimates of the number and proportion of hereditaments in the city of York that will receive an increase or decrease in bill have been made, as these contain not only transitional relief but all other reliefs, some determined at the billing authorities' discretion. Therefore it is not possible to estimate the likely bill of a hereditament.
	However, for the purpose of modelling the 2010 Transitional Relief scheme, my Department has estimated a proxy for rates bills in 2009-10 and 2010-11. The Notional Chargeable Amount (NCA) was calculated which for a given year is the product of the rateable value and that year's small business multiplier. The NCA is then compared to the previous year's reference value increased by the caps. The minimum of these two values was used as a proxy for the bill after transition. The result of these proxy calculations is shown in table 2 as follows:
	
		
			  Table 2: Number and share of hereditaments in the city of York whose proxy bill, calculated by the Department before inflation and other reliefs but after transition, will increase or decrease as a result of the 2010 revaluation 
			   Number of hereditaments( 1)  Proportion of all hereditaments (percentage) 
			 Increase in bill 2,400 40 
			 Decrease in bill 3,600 60 
			 (1) Rounded to the nearest 100. 
		
	
	The data used for this modelling are consistent with the consultation document titled The Transitional Arrangements for the Non-domestic Rating Revaluation 2010 in England. Details on the methodology and assumptions used can be found on page 49 of the consultation. The assumptions underlying this modelling include zero inflation, which does not reflect the latest information available, and adjustments for appeals. A copy of the consultation document is available at the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/nndrrevaluation2010
	The national average change in proxy bills was a decrease of £20. After this average national change was discounted from each of the proxy bills produced by the model for hereditaments in the city of York the number of hereditaments seeing increases and decreases in their rates bill is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Table 3: Number and share of hereditaments in the city of York whose proxy bill, calculated by the Department before inflation and other reliefs but after transition, will increase or decrease as a result of the 2010 revaluation discounting the national average increase in business rates 
			   Number of hereditaments( 1)  Proportion of all hereditaments (percentage) 
			 Increase in bill 2,600 43 
			 Decrease in bill 3,400 57 
			 (1) Rounded to the nearest 100. 
		
	
	When calculating the business rates multiplier in a revaluation year, we are required by law to discount the effect of any increases in rateable value. As a result, we have reduced the multiplier by 15 per cent. in 2010-11-taking it to its lowest level for 17 years. This is designed to ensure the Government do not collect an extra penny from revaluation. The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others.
	Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government have put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases, which in 2010-11 will ensure no business property sees its rates bill increase by more than 11 per cent. a result of the revaluation, with maximum increases capped at just 3.5 per cent. for small properties. That is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Public Footpaths

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding his Department has given to local authorities for parish path initiatives and partnerships to date.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I have been asked to reply.
	The Parish Paths Partnership was launched by the Countryside Commission in 1992 and ran until 1998 as a demonstration project. Some local authorities continue to run and fund the scheme, which is aimed at improving and maintaining local public rights of way. There is no centrally held information as to which authorities continue to operate the Parish Paths Partnership scheme, and how much funding is allocated to the scheme by those authorities.

Public Sector

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which Government departments are participating in the Total Place initiative.

Rosie Winterton: The Total Place programme is overseen by a ministerial group chaired by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and includes the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Department of Health, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Cabinet Office along with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Chair of the LGA.

Public Sector

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for Total Place stage two; and how many Total Place stage two pilots he expects to take place.

Rosie Winterton: The Government's report on Total Place will be published alongside Budget 2010. The report will set out the next steps Government will take on the Total Place programme.

Regional Planning and Development

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have had their core strategy found unsound by the Planning Inspectorate; and for what reasons in each case.

Ian Austin: Eight authorities have had their core strategy development plan documents found unsound. The authorities are Carrick district council (as was); Chichester district council; Lichfield city council; Ryedale district council; Stafford borough council; Restormel borough council (as was); Teignbridge district council and the Royal borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
	A paper has been placed in the Library of the House which sets out in summary the reasons why each core strategy has been found unsound.

Regional Planning and Development

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the responsible regional authority to draw up each new regional strategy.

Ian Austin: The provisions of the Local Democracy Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 to create regional strategies come into effect on 1 April 2010. The regulations, which also come into effect on that day, state that each Responsible Regional Authority will have to produce a project plan outlining how they will take forward the revision of their regional strategy, some project plans are already in place. All regions will aim to complete the revision of their regional strategies by 2013.

Social Rented Housing: Databases

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which company has been awarded the National Register of Social Housing database contract reference 2009/S 245-350819 by the Tenant Services Authority.

Ian Austin: The company awarded the contract (contract reference 2009/S 245-350819) for the National Register of Social Housing Database was RM Education plc.

Social Rented Housing: Tenants Rights

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on succession tenancy rights for adult sons and daughters of a social tenant.

Ian Austin: By virtue of sections 87 and 88 of the Housing Act 1985, an individual only has a right to succeed to a secure periodic local authority tenancy if the deceased tenant had not themselves succeeded to the tenancy and they are either the spouse/civil partner of the deceased tenant or they are a family member who has been residing in the property as their principal home for at least 12 months ending on the date that the tenant died.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published in November 2002 'Allocation of Accommodation-Code of Guidance for Local Housing Authorities' which gives guidance on when it may be appropriate to grant a new tenancy to those members of the household who have been living with the deceased tenant but who do not have the legal right to succeed. This states that:
	Where a tenant dies and another household member (who does not have succession rights to the tenancy) has:
	(a) been living with the tenant for the year prior to the tenant's death; or
	(b) been providing care for the tenant; or
	(c) accepted responsibility for the tenant's dependants and needs to live with them in order to do so,
	housing authorities should consider granting a tenancy to the remaining person or persons, either in the same home or in suitable alternative accommodation, provided the allocation has no adverse implications for the good use of the housing stock and has sufficient priority under the allocation scheme. In the case of (a) and (b), the accommodation in question must be the principal or only residence of the survivor at the time the tenant dies.

Standards Board for England: Public Relations

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 9 September 2009,  Official Report, column 2013W, on Standards Board for England: public relations, which external public relations  (a) firms and  (b) consultants were hired by the Standards Board for England in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11; and how much the Standards Board for England has spent on exhibitions at political party conferences to date.

Rosie Winterton: The following external suppliers have provided the services that were referred to in my answer of 9 September to the hon. Member.
	
		
			  (i) 2008 -09 
			  Supplier  Service provided 
			 Alphagraphics/Genie Printing 
			 Belmont Printing 
			 Benedicts Event management and logistics for the annual assembly 
			 Chapel Press Printing 
			 Cousins Group Printing 
			 De Havilland Tracking relevant parliamentary proceedings 
			 Durrants Press Cuttings Ltd. Media monitoring 
			 EC Group Printing 
			 Jacaranda Training film development and production 
			 JT McLoughlin Printing 
			 Paramount Print Printing 
			 PDC Printing 
			 Pelican Print Printing 
			 Pukka films Training film development and production 
			 Terminal Four Web content management system 
			 Thompson Brand Partners Brand review, publication design, web development consultancy 
		
	
	
		
			  (ii) 2009-10 
			  Supplier  Service provided 
			 Benedicts Event management and logistics for the annual assembly 
			 Chapel Press Printing 
			 De Havilland Tracking of relevant parliamentary proceedings 
			 Durrants Media monitoring 
			 EC Group Printing 
			 Hylton Waldeck Photography 
			 Photography  
			 Jacaranda Training film development and production 
			 Paramount Print Printing 
			 PDC Printing 
			 Pelican Print Printing 
			 Terminal Four Web content management system 
			 Thompson Brand Partners Brand review, publication design, web development consultancy 
			  
		
	
	Since 2006-07, the Standards Board has spent £139,447 on exhibitions at party political conferences.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2010,  Official Report, column 671W, on tenancy deposit schemes, if he will place in the Library a copy of the contracts between his Department and tenancy deposit scheme providers, with the commercially sensitive information redacted.

Ian Austin: Yes, I will place copies of the redacted versions of the Department's contracts with MyDeposits, the Deposit Protection Service and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme in the Library of the House.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what dates in  (a) 2009 and  (b) 2010 to date (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in his Department met each of the tenancy deposit scheme providers; who was present at each such meeting; and what items were discussed.

Ian Austin: Ministers have not met the tenancy deposit scheme providers in 2009 or 2010. Officials met MyDeposits on 12 January, 24 June and 21 September 2009 and 18 January 2010, the Deposit Protection Service on 26 January, 22 April and 28 September 2009 and 3 February and 3 March 2010 and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme on 19 January, 28 April, 23 September and 12 November 2009 and 25 January and 19 February 2010. The schemes were represented by senior executive staff and board members. The items discussed included general updates from the scheme providers and CLG, contract obligations including key performance indicators, disaster recovery/business continuity plans and tests, issues raised by the Tenancy Deposit Protection User Group, operational issues including promotional activity, data collection and other current issues.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department's contracts with tenancy deposit scheme providers provide for it to intervene to prevent an increase in the level of fees charged by a provider.

Ian Austin: The Department has no role in the level of fees that the tenancy deposit scheme providers charge their members. Any increase is a commercial decision for the scheme providers.

Travelling People: Caravan Sites

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what Ordnance Survey's policy is on recording illegal encampments and Traveller camps without planning permission on Ordnance Survey maps.

Ian Austin: Ordnance Survey's policy for the recording of encampments and Traveller camps reflects normal data capture policy. The location of buildings, roads, tracks, hedges, fences and similar structures which meet the relevant map specifications are surveyed and recorded when they are considered to be permanent features in the landscape. Locations of mobile homes are recorded as though they were buildings, but only when they are occupied principally for residential purposes and have a postal address.
	Judgments as to permanence and residential status are determined by the surveyor using the detailed mapping specifications, established precedent and experience in interpreting the physical nature of a development.
	It is not within Ordnance Survey's remit to make any judgment on the legality or otherwise of any feature or development within the landscape. Hence the representation on an Ordnance Survey map of any features within a site containing an encampment or Traveller camp is no evidence of the legality or status under planning permission of that camp.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to answer Question 315992, on affordable housing and the Code for Sustainable Homes, tabled on 2 February 2010.

Ian Austin: I have now replied to the hon. Member's question.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Boilers: Government Assistance

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects funding allocated to the boiler scrappage scheme to be exhausted; whether he plans to provide additional funding for the scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The boiler scrappage scheme works on a first come, first served basis. The funding will be exhausted when there is insufficient resource available to support the issuing of further vouchers under the £50 million allocated to the scheme. The scheme has been very popular. Any decision on the provision of additional funding for the scheme would be a matter for consideration as part of the usual budgetary cycle.

Carbon Emissions: Buildings

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has made an estimate of the average waiting time for work to be carried out under the Low Carbon Buildings programme in respect of  (a) schools,  (b) hospitals,  (c) other public buildings and  (d) households in (i) each London borough and (ii) Putney constituency in each year since inception of that programme.

Joan Ruddock: The Low Carbon Buildings Programme does not collect or collate this type of information. Each grant offer letter is time bounded depending on the type of technology requested, the applicant type (householder applications or communities/schools/other not-for profit organisations) and if new build or retro-fit. Any waiting time will relate to these time scales.

Carbon Emissions: Buildings

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what the monetary value was of grants awarded under the Low Carbon Buildings programme to  (a) schools,  (b) hospitals,  (c) other public buildings and  (d) households in (i) each London borough and (ii) Putney constituency in each year since inception of that programme;
	(2)  how many applications for grants under the Low Carbon Buildings programme from  (a) schools,  (b) hospitals,  (c) other public buildings and  (d) households in (i) each London borough and (ii) Putney constituency were refused for each reason in each year since the inception of that programme;
	(3)  what payments were made to the 10 Low Carbon Buildings programme contractors which were awarded contracts of the highest monetary value in respect of  (a) schools,  (b) hospitals,  (c) other public buildings and  (d) households in (i) each London borough and (ii) Putney constituency in each year since the inception of that programme; and how many complaints his Department (A) received and (B) upheld about work undertaken by those contractors under that programme in each of those years.

Joan Ruddock: The information requested above is not held centrally nor in a form that is readily extractable. Some information (we do not know if it is complete) may exist as raw data within several databases but our estimates are that for it to be researched and extracted manually from over 25,000 records will require approximately 10 person days.
	For this reason, we believe that disproportionate costs will be incurred with no guarantee that the question will be answered successfully.

Carbon Emissions: Housing

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many domestic appliances are being funded under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target Scheme; what estimated reduction of carbon dioxide emissions this funding has achieved; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: Domestic appliance products make up less than 1 per cent. of savings to date towards the 185 million tonne lifetime carbon dioxide savings target (April 2008 to March 2011 timeframe). High efficiency consumer electronics are responsible for a further 2 per cent. This compares to some 62 per cent. of savings to date achieved through insulation products. The specific number of domestic appliances supported will only be known at the end of the scheme.

Carbon Emissions: Housing

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department are taking to ensure consumers are informed of how much they are paying towards the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme through tariffs; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The Government believe that improving the transparency of the costs falling to suppliers from meeting their supplier obligation and how they pass these costs onto consumers is critical. The Government's 'Warm Homes, Greener Homes' strategy published in early March set out the importance of greater transparency in any post 2013 energy company obligation, including around cost information. We continue to develop the detail of this arrangement, and will pursue new powers as necessary.

Carbon Emissions: Trees

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 8 February 2010,  Official Report, column 734W, on trees, what is the estimated number of trees planted as a woodland creation carbon abatement measure that would offset one tonne of carbon dioxide.

Joan Ruddock: A hectare of new native woodland planted now in the UK would be expected to remove nearly 400 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2050, equivalent to six trees planted per tonne of CO2 sequestered by that time.

Departmental Consultants

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2009,  Official Report, column 1120W, on departmental consultants, whether the number of consultants given in the answer was included in the figures for number of staff employed by his Department published in its most recent annual report.

Joan Ruddock: The most recent annual report published was the 2009 Annual report. This report contained figures for Permanently Employed Staff (i.e. staff employed directly by DECC) and 'Others' for the period 2008-09. Consultants were included in the total figure for 'Others'. The answer of 15 December 2009,  Official Report, column 1120W, gave the number of consultants employed in DECC during December 2009.

Departmental Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what  (a) voltage optimisers and  (b) equivalent technologies are used within buildings occupied by his Department.

Joan Ruddock: The Department occupies 3-8 Whitehall Place, London and two floors of Atholl House, Aberdeen. A voltage optimisation unit is installed in 3-8 Whitehall Place. There is no such equipment in Atholl House.

Departmental Publications

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether the dates of publication of any regular statistics or reports by his Department have been affected by planning for the forthcoming general election.

Joan Ruddock: On the announcement of a General Election, the Cabinet Secretary issues guidance to departments on their activities during the pre-election period. This will be published on the Cabinet Office website.
	Regular statistical releases and reports will continue to be issued and published during the election period on dates which have been pre-announced.

Domestic Appliances: Carbon Emissions

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2010,  Official Report, column 939W, on domestic appliances: carbon emissions, if he will make an estimate of the  (a) number of domestic consumer electronics products which qualify for the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and  (b) likely effect on the level of carbon dioxide emissions of the inclusion of those products in that scheme.

Joan Ruddock: 14 electronic product types qualify to be promoted by suppliers in support of achieving their household Carbon Emissions Reduction Target. Consumer electronic products make up just over 2 per cent. of savings towards the 185 million tonne lifetime carbon dioxide savings target to date (by end December 2009). This compares to some 62 per cent. of savings achieved through insulation products and 29 per cent. through lighting products.

Energy

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what tariff levels, expressed in kilowatt hours, he plans to set for new installations of energy plants providing energy by  (a) anaerobic digestion,  (b) hydroelectricity,  (c) photovoltaic energy,  (d) nuclear plants,  (e) coal combustion plants,  (f) oil combustion plants and  (g) wind turbines in the period 2010-13; and if he will make a statement.

David Kidney: From April 2010, Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) are issued per MWh for accredited installations over 50kW. The level of support granted to hydroelectricity, anaerobic digestion, solar photovoltaic and wind turbines through the Renewables Obligation is as follows, expressed in kilowatt hours (kWh):
	Hydroelectricity: 0.001 ROC/kWh
	Anaerobic digestion: 0.002 ROCs/kWh
	Solar photovoltaic: 0.002 ROCs/kWh
	Onshore wind: 0.001 ROC/kWh
	Offshore wind: 0.002 ROCs/kWh (from 10 April; 0.0015 ROCs before then).
	Feed in tariffs for projects up to 5MW are available from 1 April 2010. As well as a tariff for generation of low carbon electricity (shown in the table), an export tariff of 3p/kWh is available for all technologies under the scheme.
	
		
			Tariff level for new installations in period (p/kWh) 
			  Technology  Scale  Year 1: 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011  Year 2: 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012  Year 3: 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 
			 Anaerobic digestion =500kW 11.5 11.5 11.5 
			 Anaerobic digestion 500kW 9.0 9.0 9.0 
			 Hydro =15kW 19.9 19.9 19.9 
			 Hydro 15-100kW 17.8 17.8 17.8 
			 Hydro 100kW-2MW 11.0 11.0 11.0 
			 Hydro 2 MW-5MW 4.5 4.5 4.5 
			 PV =4kW (new build) 36.1 36.1 33.0 
			 PV =4kW (retrofit) 41.3 41.3 37.8 
			 PV 4-10kW 36.1 36.1 33.0 
			 PV 10-100kW 31.4 31.4 28.7 
			 PV 100kW-5MW 29.3 29.3 26.8 
			 PV Stand alone system 29.3 29.3 26.8 
			 Wind =1.5kW 34.5 34.5 32.6 
			 Wind 1.5-15kW 26.7 26.7 25.5 
			 Wind 15-100kW 24.1 24.1 23.0 
			 Wind 100-500kW 18.8 18.8 18.8 
			 Wind 500kW-1.5MW 9.4 9.4 9.4 
			 Wind 1.5MW-5MW 4.5 4.5 4.5 
		
	
	The level of financial support that will be provided to carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration projects on commercial-scale coal fired power stations under the CCS Incentive has yet to be set.
	There are no tariffs for output from nuclear installations, or oil or coal combustion without CCS.

Energy Supply

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to encourage a diversity of energy supply.

David Kidney: holding answer 22 March 2010
	I refer you to the answer I gave to your question No. 314481 on 5 February 2010,  Official Report, column 619W.

Energy: Meters

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what service standards he plans to include in codes of conduct for the implementation of smart meters.

David Kidney: The Smart Metering Implementation Programme is considering a wide range of issues relating to smart meter roll out including whether service standards and/or codes of conduct should be put place before the formal roll out begins.

Government Car and Despatch Agency

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department has paid to the Government Car and Despatch Agency since its inception; how much it has spent on such payments in 2009-10; and what proportion of such payments was made in respect of the Government Car Service.

Joan Ruddock: The Department of Energy and Climate Change has paid to the Government Car and Despatch Agency £432,566.50 since its inception on 3 October 2008. The latest available figures at the end of January 2010 show a total of £338,809.31 has been paid in the financial year 2009-10. All the payments were in respect of the Government Car Service.
	Costs to Departments of ministerial cars are reported annually to Parliament by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport through written ministerial statement and are available in the Library of the House.

Warm Front Scheme

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Warm Front applications referred to Eaga Ltd. remained  (a) outstanding,  (b) unresolved and  (c) incomplete for more than (i) 21 days, (ii) three months and (iii) six months in each of the last two years.

David Kidney: holding answer 2 March 2010
	 The Warm Front scheme does not record information in the way requested on the number of applications that remain  (a) outstanding,  (b) unresolved and  (c) incomplete for more than (i) 21 days, (ii) three months and (iii) six months. It is not possible to provide a direct answer to the question. However, information is available regarding the total number of applications currently outstanding and the applications progressed within agreed time scales-21 working days for surveys, three months for insulation measures and six months for heating measures. This information is provided as follows:
	The total number of applicants that applied to the scheme in 2009-10 (as at end of February 2010) was 269,268 and 12.4 per cent. were awaiting an assessment.
	
		
			  Surveys 
			   2008-09  2009-10 
			 Surveyed within 21 working days 221,100 192,585 
			 Surveyed outside 21 working days 14,074 10,966 
			 Total surveys 235,174 203,551 
			
			 Percentage in time 94.0 94.6 
			 Percentage outside timeline 6.0 5.4 
		
	
	
		
			  Insulation 
			   2008-09  2009-10 
			 Installed within 60 working days 82,197 75,697 
			 Installed outside 60 working days 14,036 3,146 
			 Total installations 96,233 78,843 
			
			 Percentage in time 85.4 96.0 
			 Percentage outside timeline 14.6 4.0 
		
	
	
		
			  Heating 
			   2008-09  2009-10 
			 Installed within 120 working days 105,936 100,051 
			 Installed outside 120 working days 9,805 6,993 
			 Total installations 115,741 107,044 
			
			 Percentage in time 91.5 93.5 
			 Percentage outside timeline 8.5 6.5

Wind Power

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities and planning bodies on technical issues arising from planning proposals for wind turbines.

David Kidney: holding answer 12 March 2010
	The Department has issued the following guidance and reports to inform local authorities and planning bodies on technical issues arising from planning proposals for wind turbines:
	The Assessment and Rating of Noise from Wind Farms (ETSU R-97), (1996)
	Cumulative effects of wind turbines (2000)
	Wind Energy and Aviation Interests: Interim Guidelines (2002)
	Wind Turbines and Aviation Interests-European Experience and Practice (2002)
	Wind Farms Impact on Radar Aviation Interests (2003)
	Research into Aerodynamic Modulation of Wind Turbine Noise (2007)
	Onshore Wind Energy Planning Conditions Guidance Note (2007).